A Trying Love
by Trupan
Summary: COMPLETE - In a world where Pan is not Saiyan and Trunks' heritage is his biggest secret.. He loves her with every fiber of his being, so when attacks pursue, he'll do anything to prevent any harm that might come to her. What happens when he fails?
1. Deception

Author's Note: As background information, Pan is NOT Sayian. I repeat, she is **NOT** Saiyan. The Briefs and the Son's do not know each other. The Briefs are Sayian and the Chestnuts are their close family friend. ALSO!! There will be Marron bashing, not because I hate her but because it goes with the plot. Marron lovers shouldn't read this if they find it offensive. Like I said, it goes with the plot so I had to use her. It's not too bad but you have been warned. Other questions will likely be answered in the story, you just have to go with it for it is **AU.**

Chapter One: Deception

* * *

_**"Tricks and treachery are the practice of fools, that don't have brains enough to be honest" – Benjamin Franklin**_

Shin-Shin's Café is a cozy little coffee shop located a few blocks down from Capsule Corporation. It was a hang-out spot for the employer's of the big firm including the neighborhood. Designed in rich Earth colors such as cream, brown, tan, and mahogany on the inside and a simple brick building on the outside, the architecture of it gave the café its special homey feel as a finishing touch.

Thus, one simple young woman sat inside, consuming the atmosphere as she poured her heart out through her tears.

Pan sat numb in a little corner wrapped in her wintery outfit. Her eyes stayed unfocused while she held a random magazine she picked up at the entrance in front of her face. She faked interest so the customers inside did not glance her way. If they saw what a mess she was in – her entire dignity would be torn_ a_nd her pride had taken enough hits because of him. All she _could_ do now was to blame him for everything. The one man responsible for her lonely state and silent tears. The man responsible for her heart breaking into irreparable pieces.

It was a shame, to think that a _boy_ could break her until she could no longer function correctly. She scolded herself for being so caught up in the happiness, obliviously ignorant. Something that great _was, _in fact, too good to be true and she found out the hard way.

Pan sniffed, rubbing her nose with the back of her hand. Her eyes burned from the tears, her nose stinging from wiping it so much. Never had she felt so deceived in her life. She felt completely idiotic just thinking about it. But there is always a first time for everything.

Her lips thinned as another sob racked her body. By then, people began whispering - muttering questions of her behalf. Pan frowned. The last thing she needed was pity from strangers. Though a comforting hand would have been nice, her pride was damaged enough and she couldn't take anymore blows to her integrity.

Closing the magazine, she stood up to leave. A sudden chill spread through her body, making her shiver and hug her warm fur coat to her chest tightly. Her eyes glossed over in pain. It was the same fur coat _he_ bought her on their first year anniversary.

She sighed miserably. It was time she began forgetting about the memories. Because that's all they were. Unattainable thoughts of the past.

She pulled the hood over her head and left the coffee shop, hearing a ding as the door closed behind her.

The icy wind blew on her face as she slowly made her way back to the place her so-called boyfriend worked. Capsule Corporation. With each step came a flooding memory of what she witnessed earlier.

_Making her way through the corridors of Capsule Corp., Pan ran to catch the closing doors of the elevator. She was running late for her lunch date with her boyfriend and waiting for another elevator was like waiting for world peace. Nearly impossible. Luckily someone saw her and stopped the doors from completely closing. _

Who knew she was blindly walking into a disaster?

_Pan ran in and panted heavily, "Floor twelve, please."_

_There was a deep chuckle, making Pan blink and stare at the person. It was none other than Trunks Vegeta Briefs. Her boyfriend's boss and somewhat close friend._

_Over the year Pan had dated Uub, she found herself talking to the President of Capsule Corp while waiting for her Mohawk man to finish. Trunks was usually available around the time Pan showed up due to his one hour break before Uub left. _

_Uub was the Vice President of the company, falling under Mrs. Briefs, the Chairwoman and mother of Trunks Briefs. During the time, Pan found herself amused and entertained by Trunks. _

_She had expected him to be a grouch or perhaps a stuck up business man, or even a womanizer but she found herself to be completely wrong. Trunks was one the most down to Earth person she had met. Pan even found herself slightly, no, completely impressed, by his modesty. Something Uub was beginning to lack. _

_Ever since he became Vice President, Uub was cockier than ever. Ordering her around like a slave and whatnot. But Pan pushed those thoughts away. Uub had his sweet side he rarely showed anyone and Pan was glad that she was the one of the few who saw it._

"_You're in a hurry today," he commented playfully._

_Pan grinned sheepishly, "Yeah, I'm actually running late. I'm doing one of those "surprise" lunch dates. But you have so many people working here that I can't get through the crowd, much less catch an elevator."_

_Trunks chuckled, "Well, you're in luck, because we're here."_

_Pan thanked him and was about to take off once again, until Trunks grabbed her by the arm. She spun around in confusion. Trunks grinned down at her and handed her an envelope._

"_Something in the mail for him," he simply said. _

_Pan nodded and took the envelope, fingers slightly brushing his. A jolt of electricity swarmed her fingers as she made her way to the Vice President's door. _

_As she was about to turn the knob and walk in, she heard noises from his office. Figuring he was in an important meeting she took a few steps back allowing him privacy. Standing a few feet in distance, Pan hummed a tune. _

_Few moments later, she sighed, and began making strides back and forth between the President and VP's door. _

_Hands behind her back, Pan lightly kicked the floor as she waited for him to finish. He had told her before that walking in while he was in a meeting was very unprofessional . Not to mention the scolding she received about his image as a businessman. _

_Apparently, Trunks saw her walking around and invited her in his office. _

"_Are you the new security guard my mom hired?" Trunks teased._

_Pan laughed at the idea and winked in a friendly way. "You know it! I kick ass!"_

_Trunks nodded his head, "Well, you look way more attractive than the last one, I'll tell you that."_

_Pan giggled nervously, blushing at the compliment. They continued talking for what seemed like hours until Pan looked at her watch. _

_Trunks suddenly seemed to realize something, "Weren't you and Uub supposed to be on that surprise lunch date?"_

_Pan sighed, "Yeah, but it's too late now. I guess that meeting is going to take up his lunch break."_

_Trunks seemed confused. "Meeting?" He repeated._

_Pan nodded, not understanding Trunks' confusion. "Yeah, I heard a bunch of noises inside the office."_

_She saw Trunks turn to his computer and type in some combination of letters. He seemed to analyze the document until he leaned back, turning the computer screen to where Pan could see it clearly._

_It was Uub's schedule._

"_He's not in a meeting, Pan. Or at least, he's not supposed to be." Trunks bit his lip unable to give Pan a correct explanation._

_Pan paled considerably at a second thought, but she laughed it off. Waving her hands at the man in front of her, she shook her head. Nah, he wasn't cheating on her. This was Uub. The man that made her wishes come true and dreams a reality._

"_Maybe I should – " Pan got up to leave but was stopped by Trunks. _

"_Let me go in. If it is a meeting, he won't get mad at you for barging in." Trunks offered a smile and stood up as well._

_Pan looked down, "You know?"_

_Trunks turned to her, his eyes reflecting unmistakable sadness._

"_I heard," he corrected her._

Pan breathed in deep, as everything came back to her.

_Standing in front of Uub's office door, Trunks leaned in to listen closely. It was very indistinct until he pressed his ear completely against the door. His eyes widened as he recoiled. _

_Pan didn't wait for him to explain – she opened the door completely and came to an abrupt stop with the sight in front of her._

_Not bothering to register who the girl was, Pan left as swiftly as she had came in, dropping the envelope on the ground._

Her breath hitched in her throat as a sob developed. Gasping for breath, Pan stopped in front of the large dome. She wanted so desperately to go inside and demand an explanation from him. Then perhaps leave with a complimentary slap on his face, but she couldn't find the nerves to do so. How long had it been going on? Every time he told her he was in a meeting, was he out screwing a girl? How did she miss all this?

Pan smiled ruefully at the situation, "Too much trust."

A hand on her shoulder snapped her out of her revere. She looked up, puffy eyed at the disturber only to find the handsome lavender haired man looking at her with those sad blue eyes. She didn't recall anyone coming outside but she pushed the sudden curiosity away.

"I wanted to make sure you were ok – and if there's anything I can do." He offered a warm smile, but it didn't meet his eyes.

Pan shook her head and tried her best to return the gesture. She failed.

"I'm fine," her voice cracked.

He reached into his pocket and grabbed a business card. Turning it over, he pulled out a pen from the inside of his suit jacket and wrote down a number.

"Give me a call if you need anything," he insisted, pushing the card into her nimble, shaking hands.

On impulse, Pan hugged him with all her might. She wiped a tear away and smiled a brilliant, temporary, smile.

"Thanks."

Pan walked away, looking back at the man who desired to help her through her situation. He waved at her and walked inside the building. She turned her head back around, hugging herself close as tears brimmed her eyes once again.


	2. Trust

Chapter Two: Trust

_"There are people I know who won't hurt me. I call them corpses."  
- Randy K. Milholland_

* * *

Having gone home after a particularly drama filled day at work, Trunks happily kicked up his feet and turned on the T.V. in his living room. After surfing the channels, he settled on a comedy show called Human Tetris. However, the humor did not capture him so much. Perhaps it was the fact that he had witnessed a very disturbing scene with his Vice President and secretary.

Trunks grimaced but that wasn't the cause. He sighed. No, it was the fact that Uub had the most amazing woman in his life and he didn't even appreciate it. And _he_ sat behind it all, watching her suffer through all his abusiveness - whether it's physical or mental; Trunks didn't know nor cared to learn. But seeing her hurt so much was killing him inside.

Trunks turned off the T.V. and sighed helplessly. He recalled his first meeting with Pan a year and three months ago. That was how long the two dated.

_Trunks was nearing the end of his lunch break as he slowly made his way up to the steps of Capsule Corporation. He had taken a nice relaxing break away from technology by having lunch at Shin-Shin's Café a couple blocks up the street. _

_He dreaded heading back to his cubicle called office. Having to read and sign several papers that were probably stacked on his desk by now was a nightmare itself. But there was no way out of it. He was stuck with all that work along with this company for the rest of his miserable and lonely life._

_Hah – Lonely. Now that was a new topic._

_Trunks was planning on dating again, to have some sort of distraction from the work life but he found that most girls were after his fame and fortune rather than his personality. Highly cliché way of thinking but it was dreadfully true. _

_Of course looks were part of the picture as well but the girls he came across just wanted his face plastered on the cover of magazine's with hers next to his. So to find a woman who didn't care about his image was nearly impossible. _

_Trudging his way through the hallway entrance, he greeted some of his employees with a simple smile and wave. He inwardly rolled his eyes as the women swooned at the sight of him. He didn't know what they saw but it sure wasn't the dark circles under his eyes from the late hours in the office or the disheveled hair from the wind outside. _

_Stopping in front of the elevator, Trunks pressed the up arrow and waited for the little machine to come down. He folded his hands together and lightly bounced on one knee while looking around aimlessly. _

_Several of the female workers were peering at him behind walls, windows, books, magazines, etc. He felt very uncomfortable with all the stares to say the least._

_He felt a particular pair of eyes boring down on him. Trunks couldn't help but cringe at who it was. The newest secretary of the Vice President - and she was another definition of ' desperate slut' in Trunks' mental book of women. Ever since Uub hired her, she seemed to be very interested in getting him alone. Trunks wasn't sure how to handle her. Of course there was always the name calling and degrading he could do but it wasn't his style. His mother had taught him better… besides, his mother would personally kill him for his rude behavior toward a woman and it would surely reach the press in fifteen seconds. _

_Trunks was debating on whether or not he should glare at her so that she would take the hint and turn away until a petite sized woman in a casual jeans and t-shirt blocked his view of the slut. She bent over a tad bit and asked the secretary a question giving Trunks a view of her ripped thighs. They weren't so big to where it was on the level of a male soccer player but Trunks could tell she was well in shape._

_Before he knew what was happening, the secretary began screeching about nonsense. He caught Uub's name and hi s name in the scream but couldn't make out what she said. He listened more closely._

"_Look, lady. I don't have time for you to get a testy! I'm here for Vice President Uub. I don't need an appointment when he's about to go on his lunch break!" came an exasperated snap._

"_No! No one is allowed unless Mr. Uub gives his consent!" the secretary retorted._

"_Just point me in the direction of his office and I promise you won't get in trouble," she gritted._

_Trunks looked on, actually amused with the situation._

"_No!" _

"_Ugh! Fine! I'll ask someone else! Sit your fat ass back down!" the woman sharply pointed as the secretary stood up in anger._

_Trunks couldn't hold back a chuckle at the fiery woman as she turned away from the secretary and made her way toward him while the 'desperate slut' continued yelling in the background._

_Just then, the elevator dinged and Trunks went inside as the double doors opened. _

_The woman stopped short of the elevator seeming confused._

"_Excuse me, is this the way to Vice President Uub's office?" Her voice seemed calmer this time._

_Trunks nodded and moved over a bit as she walked in. The doors closed and the elevator lightly hummed._

_Trunks glanced at the woman next to him and found that behind that temper, she had a very pretty face. Not drop-dead gorgeous but it was cute, especially with the pink tint on her cheeks. Trunks wondered whether it was from the wind outside or the fact that she's standing next to a multi-billionaire man. Or perhaps her spat with the slut. He wasn't sure._

"_You must be Trunks Briefs," she extended her hand out after what seemed like forever._

_Yup, the second one, he thought grimly, taking her hand. He was surprised by how soft they were and how lightly and quick she shook his hands._

"_Yes. I guess you've seen the pictures in the magazines," Trunks lightly grumbled._

_She giggled, which made him curious. _

"_No, actually – I've heard a lot about you from Uub." She simply said._

_Or maybe not? What did his Vice President have anything to do with it? Was she family to him or something? No – he thought as an afterthought, they don't look anything alike, except for the dark hair._

"_Uub?"_

_The elevator came to a stop and they both walked out. She turned to him and smiled a bright smile that left Trunks slightly dazed._

"_Yeah. I'm his girlfriend."_

_Trunks nodded his head dumbly. So she was taken by his Vice President. The luck. She seemed very down to Earth and didn't swoon at the sight of him. And to think that he felt an instant attraction to this feisty woman seconds ago. He needed to get out more._

_She stopped and blushed, "Could you point me in the right direction?" referring to Uub's office._

_Trunks nodded and pointed ahead. She thanked him and left. _

_Entering his office, he realized he didn't even learn her name. But what difference did that make? She was taken._

Trunks walked to his fridge and looked through it. He wasn't hungry or anything; he just wanted something to fill that void and take his mind off of life for the moment.

Making a quick turkey sandwich, Trunks put the contents back in the fridge and made his way to the living room once again. He sighed, positively bored out of his mind at 2 o'clock in the morning. Knowing that if he went to bed, he would just lie there aimlessly, Trunks decided to try the T.V. once again. Flipping on the news, Trunks took small bites of his sandwich.

The woman on the screen seemed to talk endlessly about destruction that was happening around the world until suddenly the topic changed. It was none other than himself.

"Great," Trunks frowned, "What did they hear now?"

"On other news today, the President of Capsule Corporation Mr. Trunks Briefs reportedly _fired_ the Vice President due to unacceptable behavior with a co-worker. One source says that the Vice President's long-term girlfriend actually _witnessed_ the infidelity along with the President. "

The woman turned slightly as another screen popped up with an employee Trunks vaguely remembered.

"Yes, I saw the two walk in the elevator to the top floor and a few moments later, I saw Ms. Pan Son come back down in tears. Mr. Briefs ran after her, throwing profanities at the Vice President. No sooner had he gone down, the Vice President's secretary came down looking disheveled, her clothes on backwards."

"Thank you, Ms. Seung."

Trunks turned the television set off and threw the remote control in anger. His mind swam back to what had happened earlier that day.

"That no-good son of a bitch," Trunks growled in his throat. _I can't believe how much he hurt her!_

_Trunks wasn't sure whether or not he was hearing things correctly. It sounded like moaning from outside the door and he could only imagine what was happening inside. He wanted to prevent her from opening the door and seeing what her so-called boyfriend was doing for he wasn't so sure himself. However, he was not dense. He figured it was along the lines of cheating, considering Uub recently began to stay later and later each night as well as his secretary._

_He didn't question it at first, but after three weeks of overtime on his timecard, Trunks was beginning to get frustrated at having to pay the man overtime for no reason. How he knew, well he was the President of Capsule Corporation, and no contract, deadlines, meetings, or anything else went through the company without his knowing. And to his knowledge, Uub did not have a big assignment that required late-night stays with his secretary._

_His assumption was correct in the end. Uub was cheating on Pan with the slut of a secretary for the past three weeks and opening that door proved just how right he was. Though, Trunks would have preferred Pan to not witness it herself. Then again, if Trunks were to tell Pan of Uub's unfaithfulness, he wasn't positive of her reaction._

Trunks got up to the kitchen once again, this time pouring himself a glass of milk to help his sleep. Sipping the cool liquid from the glass, he recalled his conversation with Uub after Pan dashed off. He had been fairly clear and to the point, even though deep down, Trunks wanted to rip the guy limb from limb then drown the bitch.

"_You're fired," Trunks stated firmly. It was simple and to the point. _

_Uub pushed the secretary off of him, pulling up his drawers and began to protest vivaciously. Trunks, on the other hand was in no mood for an explanation on an event that didn't need explaining._

"_Pack your personal items and hand over your uniform and I.D. Don't bother explaining - I really don't care." Trunks then turned his attention to the secretary whom was picking up her clothes from the floor. He glared at her with a disgusted look and calmly said, "I know you're new to this whole business thing, _

_but having an affair with the 'Vice President' can lead to a termination of your contract as well as any other job you wish to obtain in the business world. This was a onetime chance and you blew it. Consider yourself dumped by the company – don't bother with the excuses. You and Mr. Uub have a nice day together _outside_ of the Capsule Corp. premises."_

_Trunks shut the door and took off for the elevator. He cursed his luck when the doors didn't open and made his way to the stairs. Walking down twelve stories was faster than waiting for that elevator to move up one._

He recalled distinctively of all the foul words he shot in the air as he rushed to catch up to Pan before she did something irrational. That was something he observed throughout his single years. Chicks were crazy. However, when his hand reached for the handle to open the smooth glass door, he was sourly disappointed, not being able to sense her energy anywhere.

He sighed.

There was another problem in this. Other than the fact that she was heartbroken and wouldn't possibly consider him as a better option, his family was an alien race that seized to exist many, many years ago. Other than his dear mother, his father, sister and himself were the only ones part of this race. The Chestnuts had their own secrets which was why it was easy to befriend them.

He was not particularly ashamed of his heritage, in fact, he was worshipping it. Though not in the love department. Other than that specific need, he had the mind of a genius and a Saiyan. What did this mean? He was extra-smart in all categories. Able to remember and recall several memories of the past instantly.

However, his mind wasn't the only strong thing he possessed. Trunks considered himself a Hercules compared to the human people. The perks of the entire alien thing was being able to defend himself and lift anything in mind with ease. Not to mention the Super Saiyan transformation.

This was perhaps another reason why Trunks never dated. He was afraid. What if someone discovered them? He would be putting everyone in danger and the police will be knocking on his front door with the entire Japanese kamikaze airplanes hovering above their heads. And in a world full of fear and war, what could he expect? Thus here he was: mourning over someone who was both untouchable and potentially dangerous to his future as well as his families and friends.

Life sucked.

Big.

* * *

Author's Note: Thank you for all the reviews. It made my day! I have all the chapters written so I'll post them up soon if I get lots of reviews. Greedy - I know. But reviews let me know that this story has caught people's attention. Anyways. Thank you again for the reviews, please do so again.

Also - For those wondering if this is going to be cliche... It's a guarantee that it will be original. Trust me, my mind works differently. You'll be seeing different things such as events, actions, character personality and etc. ENJOY!


	3. Fooled

Chapter Three: Fooled

_"The people of the world having once been deceived, suspect deceit in truth itself."  
_- Hitoadesa

* * *

Pan was in no better condition than Trunks, if not worse. Her eyes continued to burn from the hours of crying and her nose reddish from wiping it. She felt ultimately miserable in her state, feeling as if the world was against her. It was like a trap that she willingly walked into without so much of a second thought or a second glance. So maybe she deserved it for being obliviously ignorant in all directions. _Believing_ every word he uttered, and practically worshipped him like a god.

She was stupid. Blind.

But it was too late to stop it now.

She smiled ruefully thinking back to what her mother had told her when they first began dating. It was not a reaction she expected and Pan had recoiled from the savageness of her mothers words. Well, maybe that was an exaggeration. Her mother was anything but cruel. Pan knew she was only looking out for her well being, but she was in a blind love then. Nothing was going to stop her from being with him, _even if_ her mother did not approve.

_Pan walked in the small dome-shaped house of her parents'__ home and skipped to the kitchen where she knew her mother would be. A big smile plastered across her face as she thought back to the previous conversation she had with Uub. _

_"Mom! I have awesome news!"__ Pan__s eyes shown with happiness as her mother turned around._

_"What is it? Did you get the job you wanted?"_

_Pan had applied to her dream job a few weeks ago as an Advertising Personnel. Finishing college and acquiring the degree needed as well as the professional skill was hopefully going to pay off. However there was no news from the firm she applied to. She was beginning to doubt her chances. After all, she aimed high,__ really high. California, high. _

_So bringing that up brought a slight frown to Pan's lips. She shook her head, almost rolling her eyes at the idea. _

_"No. Sadly,"__ she puffed. _

_"Then what?"__ Pan saw the confused look on her mother__s face and immediately brightened up._

_"Weeeell,"__ she sang, dragging her mother into the living room. "__I've been talking to this guy,"__ she let it hang knowing her mother would be thrilled by the news of her daughter not being a 'loner' any longer. _

_And just as she suspected, her mother__s eyes reflected her own. Videl shook in her place as excitement racked her body._

_"Go on,"__ she implored. _

_"And,"__ Pan grinned, starting from where she left off, "__he asked me out on a date!"_

_Both Pan and her mother squealed in delight. Videl took her daughters__ hand and leaned in closer, her face looking as if it would burst any minute._

_"Who'__s the lucky man?"_

_Pan waited a while, knowing her mother hated delays. But she should at least torture her for a few seconds, right?_

_"Uub."_

_However, her mother'__s reaction was not what she expected. Videl pulled her hands away and almost seemed like she recoiled from the name. _

_"Pan,"__ Videl's stern voice alerted her mind. "H__e's got a reputation."__ She sighed, referring to the rumors spread about him being womanizer. _

_Too bad Pan was never the one to listen to gossip._

_"But it__s just hot air mom. Nobody has proof that he is a ladies' man."__ Pan furrowed her eyebrows in protest. This was supposed to be a happy moment, but her mother was quickly blackening it with her disapproval. _

_"His own mother says so, Pan,"__ Videl pleaded._

_Pan rolled her eyes. "__Mothers have tendency to exaggerate,"__ she retorted._

_Videl raised a perfect eyebrow but didn't comment. It was just another opportunity to get off subject and right now, she needed to avoid all distractions. _

"_Why can't you find someone of a better status?" Her mother begged._

"_Like who? _

_Pan wanted this conversation over. There was no point in talking about this any longer but her mother didn't want to drop it._

"_A successful business man!" She exclaimed._

_Pan looked at her mother incredulously. "But Uub_ is_ a successful business man, mom! He received his acceptance call from Capsule Corporation!"_

_Videl didn't appear to be listening._

"_As Vice President." Pan added as an afterthought in hopes of influencing her mother._

_Suddenly Videl's eyes lit up. Pan thought she actually made a break-through in her mother's set mind and was about to celebrate the good news until her mother spoke something outlandish._

"_That's a great idea! The _President _of Capsule Corporation! You can't get any better than that! And I hear he's single! This is perfect." Videl gushed at the thought but was immediately halted by Pan's hand. _

"_Mom, you're talking about Ladies Men, and how they're bad and stuff – but you went and picked the King of them all! Give me a break mom." Pan sighed._

"_Well, unlike _your_ Uub, I hear that the President is a complete gentleman with no record of being a player. He can provide for you _and_ he's handsome. A perfect match!" Videl clapped her hands as if Pan had agreed to her last statement._

_The younger woman stood up and glared, "No, mother. My decision of Uub is final."_

_Videl copied her, matching her glare, "Very well, then. I won't stand in your way."_

_Pan relaxed a bit. _

"_But," she continued, "Do not come to me when you find out the hard way."_

Pan had never seen her mother so angry with her. It was, in fact, probably the first time. And to this day, they had barely spoken to each other. Family dinners were always the awkward moments. Gohan wasn't sure of what to do when the two women sat at the table. It was always messages.

It was shame and Pan found herself regretting it deeply. It wasn't worth losing her mother's warmth over. And now, while she was wallowing up in tears, she knew she couldn't call her. It was too late for apologies.

The last thought brought a sharp pain to Pan's heart. Perhaps it was too late to realize that she made a mistake by going against her mother's best will. But the pain obviously didn't know time. It was as real and hurtful as anything could be. It seemed as if it was just recent and perhaps it was. Perhaps the pain of losing her mother's presence and Uub hit her twice as hard than it should.

She knew the truth. She found out the hard way, just as Videl had forewarned and thinking back – Pan had the urge to hit her head against the wall. She should have listened. And now it was gone. Everything. It was a lose-lose situation.

_Except for Trunks, _she thought.

It was obvious he was her knight in shining armor. He was the sun of her darkness with one problem. She was afraid. Afraid the light was too bright for her at the moment. Did he have 

feelings for her? She doubted it, though she couldn't help but be suspicious. However, she couldn't handle it right now. That would be showing her mother that she had been right all along.

She couldn't do anything until she mended everything. Including her heart, of which took the longest to heal.

But one question stuck in her mind. Why had he willingly offered his hand in help when he had several other tasks to deal with? Surely her love-life did not appeal to him so much that he found amusement in it? Perhaps that was it… He was finding enjoyment in her suffering.

Her mind argued that it was not him. He was not one that appraised hurt and shot down happiness. After all – he wasn't a sadist so therefore couldn't possibly deceive her.

Even so – why had he helped her?

Pan was confused. No answers came to her mind as she slowly drifted off into a sleepless slumber.

Life sucked.

Big.

* * *

A **HUGE** thanks to all who reviewed. It made my day even better! I'll be out for probably 5 days because my birthday is tomorrow. The big **18** woohoo! Haha. But I hope this will be sufficient enough until the next chapter. Love you guys lots and please don't forget to review!


	4. Open Her Eyes

Chapter Four: Open Her Eyes

_Life is a quest and love a quarrel...  
- __Edna St. Vincent Millay_

* * *

Trunks woke up to the sound of his alarm. He groaned and waited a few seconds for his eyes and mind to catch up to his body. He failed to hear anything outside. Just his alarm.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

Trunks' thoughts were incoherent as he rubbed his tired eyes, inwardly cringing at the blaring in his ear. He reached over and slammed down a fist, breaking the irritating invention into pieces.

It was too early. The sun was not even up yet and here he was – getting ready for work. The irritation nagged at him as he smacked his lips, tasting the morning breath. Trunks groaned in annoyance.

_If only there was something worth waking up to,_ he thought meekly, heading to the shower.

After washing up, Trunks slipped on his suit and walked to his kitchen. Opening the fridge, he examined the contents. He realized he was in desperate need of grocery shopping as he fixed himself milk and cereal. He stared at the bowl in front of him. The little pieces of Honeycomb floated gently on the milk and looked highly unappetizing for the moment. But until he went shopping – this would have to do.

His stomach protested as he inhaled the small bit of food, slurping the milk from the bowl in the end.

Washing his plates, Trunks grabbed his keys and suitcase and headed out the door. He touched his iPhone to see if there were any messages. He was sourly disappointed that there were none. Of course he wasn't expecting anything from the company. He could ignore that tid-bit when there were more important calls that should have been done. Specifically Pan's. Would it hurt to give him a two second call? Trunks would even settle for a text message, letting him know that she accepted his shoulder.

Trunks knew he was expecting too much. She was a wreck because of Uub and here he was – practically forcing her to contact him. Maybe she didn't need his help? Perhaps she was strong enough to move on.

Trunks winced. She would move on to someone other than him.

He sighed. Obsessive and irresponsible were the only words Trunks found that described his sudden behavior. Yet that didn't even put a dent in it.

"Of all situations to be in…" Trunks sighed in anger.

He entered Capsule Corporation with a new problem. He no longer had a Vice President. And what did that mean? He was in need of his mother.

Trunks became edgy. His mother always tended to poke into his love-life, trying to get him married to some girl. After hearing the news behind his firing, Trunks knew his mother would question him about it. Especially the part concerning Pan.

He gave another sigh and trudged to his office. On the way in – he asked his secretary to contact his mother and have her come to his office immediately.

Plopping down on his chair, Trunks raked his hands through his hair and leaned back. He was both physically and mentally worn out. His mind was a blank after over thinking last night and he was glad that the sudden incident from yesterday seized present itself in his mind. At least for the time being.

A few moments later, there was a soft knock on the door.

"Come in," Trunks voiced.

His mother walked in with a frown on her face. Trunks inwardly cringed at the coming onslaught his mother was about to bestow upon him.

"Now, mother. Before you say anything, I had perfect reason to fire Uub." Trunks held up is hands in defense as his mother neared him and sat down on one of the chairs in front of his desk.

"I know you did," she agreed nonchalantly with the shrug of her shoulders.

It didn't register, "So don't blame me for – wait. You agree?" Trunks was perplexed. His mother actually believed him!

"Of course! He was dense enough to believe that what he did in the office was kept secret. There are security cameras all around this place! It was on tape!" Bulma shook her head slightly in disapproval.

Trunks marveled at the sudden thought. He'd forgotten all about the cameras considering it was the only thing he didn't need to take care of. It was his mother's job. Also, it was her way of making sure he was still in the office and not off flying somewhere.

"But that incident isn't the only thing that was caught on tape," Bulma started thoughtfully.

Trunks suppressed a groan, seeing it coming.

"Here we go," Trunks muttered under his breath so that his mother wouldn't hear.

"That young woman seemed awfully distraught," Bulma looked concerned and Trunks fought the urge to roll his eyes. Yet another ploy from his mother.

"Have you not watched the news, mom?"

"No. I don't listen to biased information like you do son."

"Well, if you had, you would have seen that she had a perfectly good reason to be 'distraught,' as you put it. They dated for a year and three months and the bastard cheated on her with that desperate slut." Trunks sneered more at the idea than of what he said.

Bulma took notice.

"I've never thought you would keep track of how long a couple's been dating," she smirked at the sudden perceptive.

"I don't," Trunks said, completely missing the point.

"And you are quite possessive, I should add," Bulma continued, ignoring the confused facial expression Trunks was giving.

"I'm not," he shrugged, exasperated.

"Right, that's why you so happened to know how long they were in a relationship – and not to mention a bit testy on the subject as well," Bulma retorted smugly, her face glowing as realization dawned on Trunks.

He made no move to answer or even reprimand her statement. He just simply stared knowing that if he said anything, it would be used against him in the court of law, aka his mother.

Bulma's facial expression didn't budge as she stood up to leave.

"I'll be in the VP's office until you find another one, Trunks. Have a good day, son."

Bulma left, leaving Trunks in her wake.

Trunks cursed his mother's quickness. He slipped without even knowing and only after did she leave, reasonable comebacks swarmed his impulses. But he was too late for that. He growled at his predicament.

He was experiencing enough difficulties without his mother's snooping. He knew she meant no potential harm but he was nearing thirty and he did not need his mother to decide who was good for him and who was not. After all, running a big company such as Capsule Corp illustrated his intellect as well as differentiating between right and wrong – including his love life.

Trunks tapped his pen on the rich mahogany desk thoughtfully. He bit his lip as his mind stubbornly began to spin back to Pan. Why had she not called him? He didn't know.

A thought occurred to him. Now that Uub was gone, and they were no longer dating – would he see Pan as much as he used to? For some odd reason, he didn't want to lose contact with her. It was as if he was letting go of a memory he once cherished.

Trunks shook his head at how pathetic he was being, though sadly, his mentality was not strong enough to kick the idea out. Perhaps if he slowly won her over, and proved to her just how different he and Uub were… maybe she'd give him a chance. He smiled at the thought. With new found enthusiasm, Trunks sped through his paper work waiting for his lunch break.

* * *

It was 12:00 in the afternoon and Trunks was ready to bolt out the door. Grabbing his keys, he briefly told his mother that he'd be down the street at Shin-Shin's for a cup of coffee.

The outside weather was chilly as always. It was the beginning of winter and it was cold to the bone. His suit did little to prevent the ice from touching his skin. He found himself thankful of his Saiyan blood once again. It came in handy, especially when it was durable to several things – i.e. the cold.

Entering the small café, Trunks walked up to the register. The woman behind the bar smiled at him. It wasn't an ordinary smile that people received politely, it was one of those you're-freaking-hot type of smiles that Trunks got from females. He suppressed a squirm and ordered a Tall Chai Latte.

Soon nutmeg, cinnamon, and Indie spices filled Trunks' nostrils as the woman handed him his cup. The warmth melted the invisible ice in his palm – giving a pleasurable feeling.

Sitting down, he gazed out the window in thought. What could he do to show Pan that he was a better option than Uub? But he was getting ahead of himself. She just broke up with him, and by determining the amount of pain she went through – Pan was in no condition to be in a relationship. And sadly, the same went for him. How could he date someone when his heritage was at stake?

He could see it now – his little girlfriend going to the navy, notifying them of alien presence on Earth. His family's business would go up in flames in mere seconds. He involuntarily shuttered at the thought. But would Pan turn on him? It was amazing how much he trusted her. They never even hung out like friends would. It was always the office chat and nothing more. Of course he found her appealing the day he met her. Her spunky attitude captivated him. It _aroused_ his senses to millisecond euphoria just knowing that someone like her existed. But… would she keep his secret?

Here we go again. Planning the future before thinking of the present.

Trunks was so deep in his thoughts he failed to notice a slender woman sit in front of him until there was a light cough.

Trunks snapped out of his revere only to be surprised by his visitor.

"Pan!" he exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"

The young woman shrugged indifferently, a small smile tugging on her lips. "I don't know. I just felt like I needed fresh air, so I was walking by and saw your face behind the window. You were too deep in thought to have noticed, apparently."

Trunks blushed, "Yeah – I was in my thinking mode."

Pan laughed lightly. Trunks noticed her shivering slightly and raised an eyebrow. "Couldn't find anything warm to wear?" He asked referring to her lack of protection from the cold.

She wore a simple cream sweater and dark blue jeans. Though it did not hide her from the cold, it was looked highly complementary on her.

However, his last statement affected her in the way he didn't expect. Her soft eyes narrowed to slits and her lips thinned to a line.

"I refuse to wear that ass wipe's property," she simply said.

Trunks nodded in understanding. He must have gotten her a lot of coats for her to not wear one at all. Did she not buy herself anything? Trunks didn't want to ask.

"Then let me get you some hot cocoa," he offered.

The raven-haired woman studied Trunks before a small smile broke through her stoic expression. Trunks grinned, mentally congratulating himself on the gentlemanly act. This was easier than he imagined!

He stood up and walked to the register and ordered Pan's cocoa. In the meantime, the door of Shin-Shin's café dinged once more, this time a blonde woman of around Pan's age entered. She was dressed in pink from head to toe – from her pink scarf that hung loosely around her neck to her pink Ugg's. She was medium height, slightly taller than Pan with blonde curls tied in two pigtails. Her bright blue eyes scanned the café until she spotted the person she was in search for.

"Trunks!" she called, waving a hand in the air to get his attention.

Trunks turned and forced a smile. "Hello Marron. How are you?" He asked as she eagerly made her way to his side.

"Nothing much, really. The usual. I've been looking all over for you!" Her eyes brightened at the statement.

Trunks grabbed Pan's drink and the two walked to where Pan was sitting. Her head was turned the other way and didn't notice their presence. Trunks coughed lightly and smiled warmly as Pan's head snapped in their direction. Her face fell the moment she saw the young blonde next to him, Trunks could see, and he mentally cursed Marron's timing.

"Here's you drink, Pan." He said warmly, handing the hot cup over. Their fingers touched and Trunks felt a bolt of electricity jump from his fingers to his heart.

She gingerly took the cup; afraid it would burn her and slowly sipped from the opening.

Marron jabbed Trunks in the ribs, making him wince at the sudden pressure. His head snapped in her direction questioningly. He realized he never introduced the two, and he silently wished he never had to. But here was Marron – dying to be introduced.

"Oh. Marron, this is Pan. Her ex-boyfriend used to be our Vice President. And Pan, this is Marron. A close_ family_ friend."

Trunks knew this had to be the most awkward moment ever. He knew how Marron was. Ever since he took over Capsule Corporation, his mother felt it was necessary of him to have a stable relationship to appease the elder businessmen during meetings and whatnot. It was something to talk about and family always had the best impression of a man who had his head on his shoulders. That was where Marron came in. Her as well as her mother insisted that it be best if he hooked up with Marron.

"_Mother, I can't date Marron!" Trunks was ready to explode at the idea. Of all people! Sure Marron was nice and everything. She was pretty and everything else that came with the package but he never even once considered her to be a choice. She was Marron. The daughter of Krillen and 18. _

_His mother sighed, "I know honey. But maybe it's not such a bad idea. I mean – you won't have to worry about our secret since she already knows."_

_Trunks understood the reason, but he just couldn't be with her. He was well aware of her crush on him and as a gentleman, he said nothing about it. He allowed her to continue on with her attraction, hoping she would realize that it was nothing serious. _

_However, he was sourly disappointed to find out that, instead of her forgetting him, she fell in love with him. _

"_Mother," he tried again, "I can't be with her. I won't. I just feel that there is someone out there who will appreciate me as I am. Running to Marron makes me feel like I'm desperate. And I can't be with someone I have no feelings for. I think my "one" deserves a chance to show up in my life. It only seems fair."_

_Trunks wanted his mother to understand. Going to Marron was like giving up. His Saiyan conscience would never allow that. He wanted to wait._

"_Alright, Trunks. But I really hope your 'one' exists."_

Those were her last words to him on that subject. It was a refresher knowing that Bulma was going to allow him time. Though he didn't know how long – it was still long enough. And now, he was more than happy.

Perhaps Pan was his 'one'. He didn't know, of course. It was too soon to tell. Maybe he could test her. But before he could elaborate on the thought, Pan had already stood up.

"It was nice talking to you Trunks, but I'd better go," she said hurriedly. "Thanks for the cocoa."

Trunks' jaw dropped as Pan left the café. He immediately turned to the woman next to him with a glare.

"What did you say?" he hissed knowing full well that Marron had the intention of keeping every female away from him as possible.

"The truth," she simply said, shrugging her shoulders.

Trunks ground his teeth in frustration. Taking deep breaths he tried calming his nerves down before he spoke again. They were in public and anything harsh would send his good image straight to the bottom with paparazzi lies.

"Well," he fumed inwardly, "Keep your '_truth'_ to yourself."

Marron gapped at him but Trunks didn't wait for a comeback. He had already left.

* * *

Author's Note: So last chapter I only got 2 reviews, which makes me sad... I'm hoping to hear more from you guys so start hitting that purple button on the bottom left! Haha. Thank you for those who have reviewed and added this story to their favorites and/or alerts. I hope this chapter pleased you guys. It was like an insight to Trunks' feelings towards Pan and his mental battles. Let's see what he'll do next chapter when he catches up to her. .

R&R

Loves!


	5. Refusing to Believe

Chapter Five: Refusing to Believe

_Feelings are not supposed to be logical. Dangerous is the man who has rationalized his emotions.  
- David Borenstein_

--

Pan strolled down the sidewalk. Her mind was in a jumble. Perhaps meeting this 'Marron' was not a great idea. She could tell from the moment she laid eyes on the pretty blonde. Of course he would be taken by her – though she didn't expect it. It was difficult. She figured he'd have an interest in someone, but doubted that he made time for them. He was busy and therefore had no extra time for a special lady.

She was wrong.

Pan sighed heavily. What was she doing? For an instant she felt that Trunks had something for her. But how did she even _get_ the idea in her head in the first place – she didn't know. Maybe it was the fact that he was so nice to her? Or maybe it was that he introduced her to Marron by pronouncing that she was a close family friend. But the last part shouldn't even matter. Right?

Trivial should have been the only word running through Pan's head right now. They were not important when greater problems were of present. But Pan was finding herself falling for this man so quickly – she couldn't even register what or how it happened. It just _did_. But Marron… that was another issue. Pan could easily see the emotions in her eyes and from her observation, it was not just friendly. Yet, Trunks claimed or nonverbally expressed that it was a close family ordeal.

Pan scoffed. One of the two was lying. Of course her mentality rate was low at the moment and her belief in men diminished. Thus, she automatically believed the blonde and not Trunks. It was stupid – she knew, but it was an involuntary feeling.

_I should give it some more thought_, she decided before making a decision that Trunks was indeed lying to her.

Though she was beginning to feel like a hypocrite. Just moments ago she thought her belief in men evaporated like water, but she chose a second option. An option that shouldn't even be there! For some reason, this exasperating man she befriended was an exception to all her rules and walls. And she hated it.

Suddenly, she was grabbed by the arm. Pan spun around in surprise only to find the devil himself – Trunks.

He looked slightly disheveled so she figured he ran to her. It made her heartbeat accelerate for a brief second before dying down once again.

"Look, I don't know what Marron told you, but I doubt it's the truth." He said, looking into her eyes. He seemed to be trying to will her into believing him.

Pan wasn't sure of what to do.

Trunks took that as a break for an explanation. "See, Marron and her family had the _craziest _idea that she should be with me." He said rolling his eyes.

"Why?" Pan asked, suspicious.

Trunks bit his lip – realizing that he hadn't thought of a backup plan for the reason. He mentally cursed himself for being so open.

"It's better for my public image, they say." Trunks said evasively, waving his hand as if to brush off the idea from thin air. It seemed to work for Pan, as she didn't question him about it anymore.

They stood in awkward silence for a brief moment until Trunks snapped his fingers. Pan peered at him curiously, wondering.

"Let me make it up to you," he smiled. "Let me take you out to dinner tonight."

Pan grimaced, feeling rushed. She knew that wasn't his intention because he too made a sudden face after the proposal. The idea dawning on him.

"As friends, of course," he added. She figured it was to make her feel better. It didn't.

Pan didn't know what to say. It would be nice getting out and enjoying the night, but was it appropriate of her to accept it after just recently breaking up. Especially with a guy? Why not one of her girlfriends? Did she have any close ones? No – not after she hooked up with Uub. She successfully managed to beat all her good friends away because Uub requested… er, demanded more of her time. Thus no girlfriends.

She thought about the paparazzi. What would they say? Would they spread rumors about them? What if they were watching now?

Pan debated in her mind. Several consequences and reasons to not go to this date began to form a list in her mind.

"Sure," she breathed out without even realizing. Did she just say that?

She wasn't sure if she was doing the right thing, but seeing Trunks smile big made her forget her doubts. She couldn't believe it, but she was going to let this man show her what he was really capable of.

"Great, I'll pick you up around seven," he beamed.

Pan watched him walk off with a sloppy grin on her face. She noted her heart beating faster than normal and welcomed it with open arms. She hadn't felt like this in a long time, even when she was with Uub. This man was different, and her mother was once again, right.

"I can't believe I'm letting myself fall for him."

_It's too soon._

Walking home, Pan tried to assess her emotions. She knew that what she felt toward Trunks was something more than friendship, but it was definitely not love. It was the type of feeling one got when realizing that an incredibly handsome man found you attractive. But she wasn't sure how Trunks felt about her. Of course it was just a metaphor, a comparison to her body's involuntary reaction.

Trunks was probably being a gentleman. It was probably pity.

_Yeah_, she convinced herself, _it's out of pity._

But he broke all the rules. Even her convincing did not convince her.

* * *

That night came as rapidly as sunrise. Pan found herself in a hurry, going from one end of the house to the other trying desperately to multi-task. Clean the house and get ready for the date. It would be highly improper of her to invite the President of Capsule Corporation to her house and have it look like a tornado ran through it a couple of times.

It was nearing seven and Pan had finally managed to clean half of the mess - being sure to throw away all the boxes of tissues and handkerchiefs that once were sprawled across her living room floor.

Rushing to her closet she paused a brief second realizing that she didn't know if they were going somewhere formal or not. She cursed as she looked at the clock which read 6:35. Pan grabbed her cell phone and dialed Trunks' number. She had long added him to her contacts. In fact – she even put him on speed dial for emergency purposes. Or that was what she convinced herself while she dazedly listened to the ring.

On the second ring, Trunks picked up. She didn't recall giving him her number so she was not surprised at his formal tone.

"Trunks Briefs speaking," his voice rolled in perfect smoothness making Pan's breath hitch in her throat and unable to respond immediately.

"Hello?" he said again.

Pan snapped out of her revere as Trunks repeated himself for the third time, "Hey!" her voice came out in a rushed tone. "It's Pan."

There was an immediate worry, "Pan, are you ok? What's wrong? I'm not late, am I? I was just about to stop by the flor – anyway, doesn't matter. What's wrong?"

Pan couldn't help but chuckle at the sudden breath of words that spewed out of the business man.

"Nothing's wrong, and no, you're not late. I was just calling to ask if tonight was formal or not."

"Oh, yeah. It's formal so wear something extra nice for me," he joked though he was blushing on the other line.

Pan blushed as well. "Oki-doki. You got it. Extra nice. By the way, do you know where I live?"

"Sure do. Listening to Uub paid off in the end," Trunks cursed himself as he let his mouth move without his permission.

"Yeah," she sighed. "Guess it did."

Trunks wasn't sure if that was a good sigh or a bad one, but he hoped for all it was worth that he didn't ruin his chances so soon.

"I'll see you in fifteen," he grinned.

There was a sudden shriek on the other line followed by a string of curses.

"Pan! Are you okay?" The young man asked once again.

"Fifteen minutes! I'm not ready! I gotta go! See you soon Trunks!" she squeaked, hanging up.

Trunks looked at his phone in bewilderment, allowing a small chuckle to escape from his lips. This would be fun.

* * *

**Author's Note: AlondraM had a question that some of you may have as well. I didn't know it was unclear so here we go.**

**Q. Does Trunks live by himself?**

**A. Yes, I think with Trunks being so 'old', he'd appreciate his own home.**

**Q. Is Bulma human?**

**A. Another question I thought I was clear about, but I was wrong hahah. Sometimes I get ahead of myself and see the story without explaining it in full detail. Yes, Bulma is human. Vegeta, Bulla, and Trunks are Saiyans. Pan, Gohan, and Videl are human as are Goku, ChiChi and Goten. Marron is half android, Krillin is human, and Eighteen is android. **

**Q. Does Trunks like Pan?**

**A. Here's what I was aiming for. He does like her, but with his heritage to keep a secret – he's trying to slow his emotions down. Obviously it's not working. Pan on the other hand is not sure. She doesn't know if she likes him or can even trust him due to her breakup. You know how we girls get. Once cheated on, it's hard to trust. Haha. Her mind is telling her no, but her subconscious is falling hard for him. We'll just see what happens. **

**Any other questions you have please don't hesitate to ask. However, if it's something that will be revealed in the later chapters, I will let you know. Can't ruin the surprise haha. Remember to review, and I hope you're enjoying this! **

Thanks to those who have taken the time to review. I love you guys!


	6. Expensive Taste

Chapter 6: Expensive Taste

_Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.  
- Rumi_

* * *

He was sweating bullets. The anxiousness resolved to catch up just when he arrived at her driveway. It seemed ridiculous. After all – it was _he_ who decided to take her out on a dinner date. It was a perfect opportunity to pick her apart and see through her – metaphorically of course. It was an advantage that was miraculously bestowed upon him. It was a chance to be certain that she was not deceiving him. He wanted to see if he could tell her the truth. The _whole_ truth. Maybe that's why his palms began to sweat and his forehead masked with perspiration.

Slipping out of his Audi R8 – he slowly walked toward the steps, to the door. Straightening his tie and being sure that the flowers he had bought were in one piece, he knocked. There was a muffled crash and a silent curse until he heard her patted footsteps rushing to the door.

The locks turned and there she stood. A slightly thin strap held on tightly at her left shoulder, swooping down under her right arm and that was it. A simple yet elegant shimmering black dress. Decent? Yes. Breathtaking? To a point of drooling, indeed.

"You look amazing," he murmured softly.

She flushed at the compliment, taken aback by his forwardness. "You clean up nice too," she offered with a smile. Trunks chuckled, eyes dancing.

"Oh, I almost forgot – these are for you," he brought out the flowers from behind his back and presenting it to her with a slight bow.

Pan took the dozen roses, and went to smell them. She had a sense shock when she inhaled paper rather than sweet aroma. Pan sourly realized they were spurious. She frowned slightly at the letdown. For a second she thought he was chivalrous, old fashioned. One that opened the door for you in the car when getting in or getting out. One that treated women with utmost respect. Someone that called to make sure you were ok. However, fake flowers were not included in that list.

Pan inwardly sighed. She was getting ahead of herself. Fast.

"You may be wondering why those are specious," he began, noticing her facial expression. "There's a reason and it's not because I couldn't afford real ones."

"What's the reason?" Pan questioned, raising an eyebrow. She was waiting for some kind of excuse but once again, Trunks stunned her mind.

"I can't tell you until I'm certain of something," he explained vaguely.

"Certain of what?" she asked.

But Trunks wouldn't hear it. He waved his hand in dismissal and pulled her along to the car, being sure to lock the house.

"Do you always ask questions?" He laughed.

"Are you always this mysterious?" she countered with a glare, not finding the situation amusing.

"I usually try to avoid it. People's natural survival instincts take over and they don't ask so I generally don't tell. You on the other are different. I'm sure you've heard the saying, 'Curiosity killed the cat.' You don't want to be that cat, Ms. Pan Son."

"Well conveniently I'm a _female_ and not a _feline_." Pan rolled her eyes at his antics of avoiding the subject.

"Touché! But witty remarks such as that will not help you. I will not reveal anything. But if you're patient, you'll find out soon." Trunks opened the door for Pan, offering a hand to help her get in.

Pan refused to take it and simply managed for herself. After all – it wasn't the first time. Uub never performed such gentlemanly acts; therefore she was used to helping herself into the car. Today was no different. Though this time it was because she felt that Trunks was trying her dignity.

She thought that would anger him mildly but it did the exact opposite, much to her dismay. Instead, Trunks let out a string of laughs before closing her door and walking around to the drivers' side.

And thus the ride there began. Pan took note of how classy the interior of the car was. It fact it was the only time she had seen something like this. It definitely beat the standard Japanese cars. Who would have guessed Trunks was for European cars after owning a company that manufactured hover cars.

Pan looked out the window in confusion. They were headed down streets she never saw before. For a brief second, she wondered what Trunks was planning but quickly dismissed the idea, finding it absurd.

After what seemed like mere minutes, Trunks pulled up to a fancy restaurant. Getting out, he smoothly made his way around and opened the door for Pan before she could even get out of her seatbelt. He was fast, she noted in her mind. Almost physically impossible. But she stopped once again. Here she was, making assumptions on the man who did nothing but be kind to her. This was _Trunks_.

Trunks gave his keys to the valet and escorted Pan inside the luxurious building. Her mouth dropped as she got closer and closer. The outside was lit up with soft yellow lights that shined on the sides of the cream colored building, bringing out the textures in the wall. Trees were placed at each corner with white lights adjourning its branches. However, it was not the outside that Pan found shockingly amazing. It was the inside.

"Where are the tables?" She asked feeling even more confused than ever. There was nothing but a stool in front of them with a waiter dressed in a classic black suit behind it. Everything else was just empty space with poles sticking high up to the newly realized non-existent ceiling.

Trunks seemed to not hear her question as he led her to the host.

"How may I help you sir?" the man asked. Pan was too busy looking around for tables to realize that the man was particularly old. Almost like those butlers one saw on T.V.

"I have a reservation for two under Briefs," Trunks spoke politely.

Pan turned her head to the aged man, observing his white hair and wrinkled kind face. She vaguely noticed that her hands were tangled with Trunks'. When did it happen? They were amr in arm just seconds ago! She would have pulled away instantaneously but for some odd reason, it felt right. So she left it. Little did she know, Trunks was thinking the same as the man led them toward one of the poles.

The host brought out a remote and after typing in a number, the pole slowly began to descend.

"Trunks? What are we –" but she didn't finish. She couldn't. All she was capable of doing was gaping at the _thing_ in front of her.

As the pole slowly came to a stop, Pan's mind went haywire. This was not just any kind of restaurant. No, definitely not. There stood a glass hexagon with a table inside. Candles lit the little room and rose petals were masked everywhere - whether it was on the seats, table, or floor.

The man opened the glass door and bowed slightly.

"Enjoy."

Trunks squeezed her hand and lightly stepped in. Pan's jaw dropped at how magnificent it was. It was almost surreal. Her heart raced against her chest as Trunks pulled out a chair for her. She sat down as Trunks tucked her back in.

He sat across from her, wearing an amused expression as he watched Pan gawk. A waiter came in and handed them menus. Trunks cleared his throat when Pan didn't accept the menu. She blushed.

"What can I get you lovely couple to drink?" the waiter asked.

Pan was about to say they were not a couple but Trunks was already talking.

"Your best wine, please."

The waiter nodded and disappeared. They had not yet ascended and for that, Pan was thankful. She was afraid of heights since her childhood. Climbing trees was a big thing for her back then. But one day she fell from the highest branch, breaking her arm. She had been afraid ever since.

Now, here she was, in a _glass_ room about to scale in the sky and leveling with the trees. Her stomach churned in fear. Suddenly she wasn't sure how she was going to manage down food.

Trunks sensed her discomfort and coughed lightly, "Anything wrong?"

Pan grimaced lightly, afraid of hurting his feelings, "Nothing."

She can endure an hour of levitation if it meant keeping him happy. After all, this place seemed _very_ expensive and informing him about her fear would ruin the mood.

He seemed to accept that answer for the moment when the waiter came back with a bottle. He presented the bottle with one hand on the tip and one hand on the bottom with a white towel. Trunks nodded as the waiter flipped over their glasses and stepped a few steps back to uncork it.

He untwisted it and offered the cork to Trunks for him to smell. He declined and motioned for Pan.

The waiter turned to her. Pan looked at Trunks, unsure of what she was supposed to do. Seeing her cluelessness he spoke up, "Smell it to see if the aroma is appealing to you."

Pan did as she was told and was met with a very intoxicating smell. The waiter took that as a sign that it was ok and poured an inch into her glass. Pan knew what to do from there. She swished the wine around and took a sip of it. The taste spiked her senses. It was absolutely delicious.

Trunks saw her face light up and motioned for the waiter to pour the wine. Once done, he set it on the table.

"Have you decided on what you would like?" The waiter looked at her.

Pan suddenly realized that she didn't even glance at the menu. She bit her lip and smiled sheepishly, "I honestly have no idea what's good. Can you help me out Trunks?"

He chuckled giving a slight nod, "Give us your chef's special."

The waiter scribbled down the order and bowed. "Anything else, sir?"

"No, that'll be all. Thank you."

The waiter left.

"This wine is _really_ good, I wonder why I've never tried it before," she mused taking a sip.

Trunks grinned at her, "Probably because it costs about 23,000 a bottle."

Pan choked eyes wide. "What?!"

"Well 23,929, to be exact," he chuckled brightly, loving the expression on Pan's face.

She rolled her eyes, "Oh, yeah. That makes it _all_ better. What's it called?"

"Montrachet 1978 from Domaine de la Romanee-Conti," he recited perfectly.

"Wine lover?"

"Absolutely! Only the best."

"I can see that," she eyed him warily.

He laughed at her facial expression but didn't say anything.

The food came out fast, much to Pan's surprise. It was roast beef with all the expensive spices and vegetables that accompanied. Pan vaguely wondered how much it cost but didn't ask to prevent a heart attack on her behalf. _He _may not think it's a lot of money but she sure did.

Uub never treated her like this. It was never the best of anything for her. But here was Trunks, already offering her the best of everything and they weren't even going out. Hell, they were barely on the basis of being friends. So why was he doing all this for her? Was there some hidden motive behind this? She figured it wasn't to get into her pants because he would be spending an incredible amount of money in just mere hours. Money she made in one year or maybe more.

"Please fasten your seatbelts," the waiter said which alarmed Pan.

"Seatbelts?" There were seatbelts on this thing?

"We're going up," Trunks replied as if it cleared everything.

"Up?" she repeated, feeling the illness in her stomach again.

Trunks studied her features. His eyebrows shot in sudden realization, "You're afraid of heights!" It was more of a statement then a question. Pan couldn't do anything but nod lamely.

"We can dine somewhere else, if you'd like," he offered, preparing himself to stand.

Pan managed to glare at him through her sickness, "Are you crazy?! You just spent 30,000 on wine!"

"23, 000," he corrected her as if there was nothing wrong.

It only intensified Pan's annoyance. "No way! You're not wasting all that money and just willingly leave for my sake. We're staying!"

He shrugged, "It's not a problem, Pan."

"I said no," she snapped defiantly.

Trunks only looked on with amusement as the little glass room ascended its way up.

Pan thought she turned different shades of color but coerced herself to be calm. Trunks' amused expression turned to worry. "Pan, you're turning green. Are you sure you don't-"

But she cut him off, breathing in while gripping the sides of the table, "I said I'm fine. And the trees are reflecting on my pale skin, _turning _me green."

Trunks found this highly comical as he burst into a fit of laughter. Pan closed her eyes and flared her nostrils which shut him up.

"I'm sorry," he said with complete sincerity. "Look at it this way, if you fell out, I'd jump right after you."

Pan peeked through one eye. The corners of her lips turned upwards at the idea. "Oh yeah, so we can both fall to a pit of doom."

"I'll fly us to safety," he burst without even thinking. He mentally cursed himself at the slipup but found that he wasn't caring as much as he should.

"Yeah right," she scoffed at him as the room stopped mid-air, "flying. Good luck with that."

"Don't push away things you don't understand, Pan," he found himself saying again. Only this time it was by choice rather than impulse. He wanted to see her reaction.

She shrugged indifferently. "Well, I guess flying can be very useful."

It was a simple statement on her part but it sent waves of euphoria through Trunks. Perhaps she was the one who would understand him and accept him as who he is. Though it was too soon to tell, he couldn't wait to find out more.

--

**Author's Note**

**Q. How old are Trunks, Pan, Bra, Goten?**

**A. Let's see. Since Trunks is nearing thirty, he is 29 at the moment. Pan, Bra, and Goten's age will be mentioned in later chapters since I haven't really put an exact time frame on them just yet. But they're not too far off from each other. :D**

**Q. Is Pan Sayian?**

**A. Nope. And of course, neither are any of the Son's. But look out - there's a change in the horizon and who knows - maybe she will end up being a Sayian or maybe Trunks will turn human. Lol. I don't know.. well I do but I can't say until the VERY end of the story which a long way away. Haha.**

Hope that answered your questions. Anymore, just ask. Haha.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOVELY REVIEWS!!

Please do so again. Loves!


	7. Coming to Terms

Chapter Seven: Coming to Terms

_Men are like stars – there are a million of them. But only one can make your dream come true.  
__- Anonymous_

--

Their night had no end and he wouldn't have it any other way. They were laughing and joking and everything else that made a person's night wonderful. The feeling was refreshing – being able to actually enjoy himself without worrying – though he should.

Of course the night didn't go by without slip ups. He messed up a few times after the whole flying incident but successfully managed to reroute it back into a joking matter. Not voluntarily but by timing, of course. He couldn't think that fast… or fast enough. So it was nothing to be taken serious – though he was sure if he _had_ told her, she'd never believe him anyway. Or that was what his rational thinking was aiming for. Too bad irrational thoughts had a bigger advantage. He was falling in love, and no one thought rationally when feelings where involved.

_Trunks consumed his portion of wine. He wasn't satisfied enough so he then ordered glass of vodka. He never noticed Pan's horrified look until he downed the spearing alcohol. _

"_You seem to love alcohol," she coughed lightly._

_Trunks, without thinking, simply said, "Drinks like alcohol do not faze me. My body can take more. It's very durable."_

_Pan managed to contain her surprise and only then did Trunks realize what he said. No ordinary human can take more than what he downed. He began to sweat, which Pan noticed and misinterpreted._

"_So much for durable, you're sweating like crazy!" she laughed at his predicament. _

_For once, Trunks thanked perspiration and joined in her laughter. "Guess I spoke too soon!"_

That was only one slipup. The others were not so bad. One was a comment on mating and the other was his food consumption. After eating the meal prepared, his stomach wanted more. But before Pan could ask, which he knew she wouldn't, considering how rude it would sound, his mind quickly came up with a reason. For once.

"_I only had cereal all day today and it was not enough to satisfy my appetite. I'm low on groceries." He had explained sheepishly._

"_Well, a man needs more than a bowl of cereal," she had teased._

But that simple statement had a different reaction in his mind. Trunks immediately boasted up, his chest full of pride and manly instincts taking over. The only image that went through his mind was a picture of him coming home from work and Pan making dinner for him. A nimble little wife.

Trunks suddenly got urge to pull her close to him and never let go.

However, he was beginning to sound like an obsessed stalker. His feelings were becoming frightening and dangerous. Where had all that come from anyway? He was not like this before. He knew he was a man without a female telling him that. But a snooty little voice in his head kept reminding him, _you're in love._

The bad part? He didn't care.

This was truly a mistake. He _should_ care. This was his _life_. Yet here he was, talking flippantly about it as if he were _normal_. Trunks knew – he was far from normal. His everyday habits justified that reasoning.

But that didn't stop him. Unfortunately.

"So you have a mother who is a super genius and a father who is basically made of rock," she summarized thoughtfully.

"Sounds about right," he mused with her.

They began on the topic of themselves and their family lives. Trunks had finished his edited version of his parents, being extra careful with all the details as to not give away anymore then he already had.

His insides twisted because despite his failing efforts, he sensed her recognizing oddness in his family. Why was he telling her everything, again? What was it that he could possibly tell her that the media hadn't already covered? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! So why was he talking about it as if she didn't have a clue of whom his parents were? Oh that's right – his heart decided to fall for her without even asking his mind. Apparently, the checks-and-balance system only applied to government.

But like before – he didn't care.

"Will you tell me something?" Pan asked after taking her last bite from her meal.

Trunks pushed his plate slightly, and leaned back. "Sure."

"You said you _heard_ Uub yell at me before. I was wondering how you actually made out the conversation when your office is a few feet away."

Trunks tried not to pale but he knew he was failing miserably. True he can't hear anything going on in the Vice President's office when it's ordinary talk – or the latter, moaning. But his sensitive hearing picks up on the conversations that were done above normal volume. It is as if it were being said in his face. But of course he couldn't divulge this to Pan. It was too soon to confess his irregular hearing ability, eating habits, and other abnormality. So he did the next best thing – he fibbed.

"Well I heard the commotion but I didn't know what it was about until after you left," he began skillfully, the idea writing itself in his mind before he spoke them, "I went in his office after his meeting was done to ask him how it went, and it went from there."

She bit her lip.

Trunks felt horrible lying. Especially now because he just made it seem like Uub was complaining about her behind her back. Treating her low and giving the relationship no privacy. He didn't mind encouraging Uub as the unsuitable, but she didn't deserve any more bullshit from the guy. He was supposed to show her he wouldn't hurt her – but lying always hurt someone in the end. Always.

And just as he suspected, Pan looked offended. "I guess it doesn't matter," her voice cracked once but she managed to contain it back in, "I should have figured he'd go behind my back and talk about me as if I were some random person he saw on the street. I didn't matter to him."

Trunks bit his lip to keep from telling her the truth. He wanted to tell her how he defended her. He wanted to tell her how angry he was at Uub. How _furious _he was and just how much he _wanted_ to _kill_ him. The urge was incredible, as if was going to come to life and confess on its own.

_Trunks fidgeted in his seat every now and then. The tedious hours of work in the office were cramping his leg muscles and his joints. He was a Saiyan, his mind protested, and Saiyans shouldn't be cooped up in tiny offices with tiny chairs. It threw off the balance. But of course he couldn't mention this to his mother. Or else _he_ would be thrown off balance, literally. _

_Grabbing a pen from its holder, Trunks signed the last document needed for approval. For once, today did not consist of implausible amounts of paperwork on his desk. Uub was in the room next door signing off a business deal. The prerequisite before the deal could be signed off was to look through policies, money agreements, contracts, etc. Trunks never knew one company could produce so many documents just to partner up in shipping capsules. It was incredible. And painstaking. _

_He rubbed his temple. He thought about snoozing. It seemed so inviting in the midst of work. Deciding on napping on his couch for a few minutes he buzzed his secretary and informed her. He specifically requested no visitors for at least 30 minutes. _

_He walked toward his zebra striped futon and laid back. His muscles relaxed and allowed the comfortable couch to carry him. And just when he was about to doze off, noises from the office next door disrupted his slumber. He growled in annoyance and tried to relax once again but the voices got louder and louder. Suddenly a door slammed shut and shuffling of feet rushed across the hallway._

_Trunks cursed his Saiyan hearing as he forcefully pushed himself up. Grudgingly, he fixed himself and walked to Uub's office. Just as he arrived, the contractor came out shaking his head in disapproval. Trunks' eyes narrowed at Uub's as he too came out of the office. _

"_I'm very sorry about the disturbance, Mr. Han! Please reconsider your decision. Merging our delivery crew can be mutually beneficial!" Uub pleaded as the man began to walk away._

_He stopped midstride and turned to Trunks, "Mr. Briefs, I apologize but I cannot merge my company with the likes of your Vice President. His unacceptable behavior toward your employee was truly distasteful. I will be glad to amalgamate our companies when I have seen respect between your Vice President and the other employees. I for one would not appreciate someone cursing my workers for simple and trivial matters." With that, he turned on his heel and left._

_Trunks' glare intensified as he locked his jaw, "You did what?!"_

_Uub got defensive, "Hey not you too, man. It was just Pan!"_

_As if that made the situation any better. This only angered him more, "Just _Pan_? What the hell did you say to her?!"_

"_She interrupted my meeting with Mr. Han! He's very important to the company and I've told her repeatedly not to bother me but she does it anyway. The bitch got what she deserved."_

_Trunks' fist clenched at his sides. His insides were raging and he knew that if he moved from his spot, the man in front of him, more like the boy, would be very much dead. So he stayed locked in his place as words came out in hisses. _

"_You cussed her out because she came in the room? So what if she interrupted your meeting! Family relationships show our contractors we're family orientated. It's good for our reputation. But no thanks to you, we lost that in mere seconds because your loud mouth couldn't keep in obscurities. If it bothered you so much, you could have told me and I could have kept her busy in my office while you were finishing up. But yelling out profanities in front of anyone is highly unacceptable!"_

_Uub couldn't comprehend it. "Are you defending her?"_

"_What if I am? Someone has to protect her from your multiple personality disorder," Trunks snapped. Who was he to question _him?

"_It's like you're going out with the broad," Uub muttered under his breath, assuming Trunks couldn't hear. _

_But he did. Trunks grabbed Uub by his suit and lifted him up in the air, "Don't you ever say that again. Learn some respect," he gritted out, dropping him._

_Uub nodded furiously. _

Thus that was how that little event occurred. Pan would probably think he was being ridiculous and a bit mental, so keeping it a secret wasn't too bad of a choice.

"Do I get to ask you something as well?" Trunks questioned innocently.

"That depends."

"On?"

"On whether it's personal or not. I've known you for a year, Trunks – but we barely talked on a personal level."

"Understandable, but yet I told you a little something about my family," Trunks mused.

Pan was silent. He was right.

"Fine," she sighed. She held up a finger, "But on one condition."

"I thought we agreed that there were no conditions!" he protested childishly.

Pan laughed at his antics, "Just don't bring _him_ up, and I'll be fine."

Trunks nodded his head and gave her a crooked smile, "Alright. Agreed. Now can you please tell me what Marron told you?"

"You didn't hear?"

Trunks blushed, "I was occupied with other thoughts. Sorry."

Pan bit her lip in anxiousness. Telling him would mean breaking down the brick walls she set against the world. Because despite the fact Marron's claims seemed to become more far-fetched as she spent her time with Trunks, this gave Trunks the opportunity to see how jealous she got just looking at the woman.

"No," she simply said.

Trunks frowned, "What? Why! You only had one exception!"

"Because, I just rather not say anything. It's stupid." Pan glared at the man before her. Though she really didn't put any anger behind the glare, she hoped it would convince him that she did not want to share the bit of information. It wasn't her fault that he was too dazed to witness it himself.

"That's not a very good reason," he chided scornfully, wagging a finger in her face playfully.

Pan's glare broke as a smile formed on her face. "Do you still want five fingers or what?" she laughed, slapping his hand away.

Again, he was an exception to the wall she built.

Trunks chuckled, shrugging his shoulders, "It's a sacrifice, but I'll live. As long as I find out what she said to you."

"I told you no!"

"Well I was never the one to listen to a 'no'. It's been so long since I've heard it, actually, that it erased itself from my mental dictionary," he grinned surreptitiously.

"You have a mental dictionary?" Pan raised an eyebrow, covering her mouth to prevent herself from laughing out loud.

"So what if I do?"

Pan managed to calm her giggles and shrugged nonchalantly, "Nothing. Nothing at all."

"I also have a mental book of women," Trunks added as an afterthought.

This time, she didn't hold it in. Strings of laughter echoed through the trees surrounding them with his joining in.

Trunks felt alive. He never knew how much pleasure it brought to him just making Pan happy. The mere thought that he was the one who caused her to smile brought great warmth to his chest. It was addicting.

"Come on, Pan. Stop changing the subject. I just told you one of the most embarrassing things I can think of but you can't tell me a simple a little conversation," Trunks pouted. It was unfair. He wanted to know!

"It's not my fault you're easily persuaded," Pan clicked her tongue, smirking at Trunks.

He leaned in, "Not easily persuaded, easily distracted."

"Oh, so you have A.D.D? Like every other Asian male I've met. You know what I think it should stand for? Asian Defecate Disorder."

"Maybe," he shrugged. His voice got lower and huskier almost at a whisper, "Or maybe it's the fact that you look breathtaking right now."

Pan's face turned crimson. She couldn't believe the sincerity in his voice nor the look of desire in his eyes. It was too much for her. Her heart couldn't take it. It wanted to revolt and jump out of her chest at how _happy_ that simple little sentence made her feel. The feeling was incredible. And scorching. It burned her.

Trunks, not getting a response from her, mentally cursed himself. _Too fast and way too deep! Slow it down Trunks! She's not ready._

"I'm sorry," he said suddenly, catching Pan off guard.

"What are you sorry for?" Trunks wasn't sure but he thought he saw a bit of resentment reflect in her eyes. Wait – was she _happy_ that he said that?

"I'm going too fast. It's not fair. I told you it would be a friendly dinner," his voice got lower, "but my heart is doing something of its own."

"Then why won't you let it?" she asked gently. She couldn't believe she was saying it. But it felt good. It felt _right_.

Trunks leaned in, as did Pan. His heart raced at a faster speed then his already abnormal rate. He could feel her breath on his face as he got closer and closer. They were mere centimeters away when Trunks stopped. He looked into her eyes intently, finding them half lidded as were his.

"Because I want to do this the right way," he breathed, pecking her on the cheek.

He pulled back, "I want this to be about you. I don't want to rush you into anything. I know you've been hurt and I want to prevent that from happening again. I can't even begin explain how important you are to me. And I would never forgive myself if I rushed you into something you aren't ready for. As long as my heart still beats, Pan, I'm going to do everything the right way. _Your_ way."

Pan's eyes clouded with tears. She brought her hands to her mouth, covering it and nodded her head fearing that if she said something, the waterworks would start.

Trunks walked to her side and hugged her tight. "Please don't cry. You're going to make me cry too! Do you know how retarded I look when I cry? I can't even look at myself in mirror. So save yourself the horrible visual and cheer up. Besides, I'm already missing your smile."

Pan managed a laugh in her overwhelmed state, wrapping her arms around his neck securely. Silent tears rolled down her cheeks as she held onto Trunks. Her knight in shining armor.

--

**Author's Note: How cute! Man I'm jealous of Pan! Haha. Hope you enjoyed this! So I find out that there are hidden GT episodes so I order and watch them. Turns out that Gohan and Videl have another kid as do 18 and Krillin. Goku becomes one of the Kai's and Trunks marries some random anime chick just to fill in the gap of the storyline. I was disappointed and they were crap. There are 15 more episodes after Goku leaves, for those of you wanting to see it. I don't recommend it, though. I think the DB series ended for me after DBZ. GT was crap with a retarded plotline. Though I loved the fact that Trunks and Pan got close in the end. I think it would have ended better with the two marrying and merging the two families together. This is coming from me who will be majoring in Film Production/Cinematography, so it might count haha jk. But seriously, those episodes exist. I suggest you order them from the mall or something, that's how I got mine. **

**Fear not TP fans, I think Trunks would of married Pan if it were Akira doing the plot. Haha! Who knows. But yeah. Review por favor! Love you guys mucho! **


	8. Little Moments

Chapter Eight: Little Moments

_"Love me now, love me never, but if you love me, love me forever."  
- Anonymous_

_--_

It was two weeks after the dinner when tabloids began posting stories of the two. Pan was running errands for Trunks when she was ambushed by the paparazzi. Photographers took pictures of her at every angle and questions were thrown at her in a jumble.

"Are you and Mr. Briefs dating?"

"Are those for Mr. Briefs?"

"How do you know him?

"What about your ex-boyfriend, Uub?"

Microphones were shoved up to her face as she tried desperately to get away. She was somewhat used to the media when she began dating Uub. Him being the Vice President gave him a groupie of his own but nothing like this. Pan felt overwhelmed and the unacknowledged claustrophobia began to squeeze her insides. Her mind was in a panic mode as she pushed and shoved her way through the crowd and toward her car.

_Just a few more steps!_ She chided in her brain. Just a few more steps and she would be out of this hellhole.

Trunks was finishing up a meet when his intercom buzzed in.

"Sir, Ms. Son is here to see you. Should I send her in?" the nasal voice echoed in his office.

"Of course," Trunks nearly chirped.

Trunks got comfortable in his stiff chair, making a mental note to buy a bigger one when Pan stumbled in, breathing heavy.

Trunks raised an eyebrow, but before he could utter a single word, Pan glared at him.

"I was nearly killed by the paparazzi for your stupid papers!" she hissed.

Trunks nearly fell out of his seat at how amusing he found the situation. He tried to hide his distorting face from her view but his eyes gave it away. He broke into laughter at how entertaining Pan was being at the moment. Her hair was disheveled as if a wind blew right through it and her clothes slightly disarranged from the running he presumed.

He walked to her side with an arm stretched out to help her sit down. She knew she should have refused and let him feel guilty for sending her to the pack of wolves but she couldn't bring herself to do it. So, she sat down with his help and relaxed, fixing her hair and clothes in the process.

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely after the laughter subsided, "I'll never do that again."

"You better not," Pan snapped. "Who would have guessed that a simple trip to the electric company would be so detrimental to my health!"

Trunks was about to reply when she raised up a finger, "Next time, pay your own electric bill, buddy! We have mailboxes for that."

"But I already told you," Trunks pouted, "by the time they receive the payment, they would have charged me a late fee! Besides, it's right down the street almost – it couldn't be that bad."

"It's not my fault you don't pay things on time." Pan folded her arms stubbornly while trying to prevent the corners of her mouth from turning upward.

It was always the little banters that Pan found amazingly enjoyable. Neither of them were actually upset. In fact it was the opposite. It was always the pointless things they usually argued about, nothing serious. She would always complain about the errands he sent her on and Trunks would pout, saying he'd never do it again. The next day was the same. Pan, of course, got him back by sending him on an emergency run to the drug store for an ointment. For menstrual cramps, that is.

Pan usually got them pretty bad and the last time she did, she couldn't move an inch from her bed. So she dialed the first person that came to mind.

"_Hello?" he answered on the first ring._

"_Trunks," she gasped in pain, "I need your help."_

_This set off the alarms in his head. "I'll be there in a second!" he had said until the line went dead. _

_Pan gaped at the phone. She didn't need him to come here! She needed him to go to the store! _

_And as if Trunks had been standing outside the door the entire time, there was a familiar knock. It was only familiar by the tune he rapped on. Four knocks and doorbell was his signature move. He told her that in case of an emergency, she'd be able to distinguish his arrival from everybody, though Pan still didn't understand what he meant by that._

_She cursed herself when she realized the door was locked. Her phone rang his tune._

"_Hey," she breathed._

"_I'm about to break your door open, just so you know." He hung up._

"_Wha?" Pan was suddenly alert when a sudden noise from the living room reached her ears. She knew her living room was an official mess. She groaned in annoyance at how much she would have to clean after the cramping stopped, silently devising a plan to have Trunks stay and do most of the work since he caused it._

_There were rushed footsteps nearing her room. The door burst open and Trunks stood in obvious panic._

"_Pan! What's wrong!" He all but shouted._

"_I'm cramping," she whimpered, "and it hurts like hell. Can you run to the store and get me some ointment for cramps?"_

_Trunks stopped breathing, "Cramping? Ointment?"_

_Pan nodded as another wave of pain racked her lower body. She moaned in anguish, setting Trunks in another frenzy. _

"_Why not take pills, Pan?" he questioned though his insides churned at how much agony this female cycle was causing her._

"_Trunks," she groaned in annoyance. "I'm hurting," she reminded him._

_Trunks sighed, "I'll be back in a second."_

_That second was almost literal when Trunks came back with a bag full of different bottles. Pan raised an eyebrow at him._

"_I didn't know which was good one," he explained._

"_You could have asked," she scolded him her eyes scanning at the prices some of them were. She could see that he only got the best ones. Picking the one she was familiar with, she threw the covers off of her._

_Trunks turned his head, glaring. "I really didn't feel like dealing with any females."_

"_I'm a female," she joked with him as she rubbed the soothing cream on her lower abdomen._

"_You're different," he shrugged as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He turned back around when Pan was decent. _

"_I still don't see why I couldn't grab you a pill from the kitchen cabinet," Trunks rolled his eyes though he wasn't technically complaining. He'd do anything for her and he had the inkling that she knew that as well._

"_That was payback for that stunt you pulled with the errands. I think you want me to die in the hands of all those girls."_

"_They're just jealous that you caught my attention and they didn't." He laughed, sitting down at the edge of her bed. His hands rubbed one leg as he grinned childishly at her._

"_Well I'm regretting it. You're a lot of work." Pan huffed but smiled nonetheless. _

They weren't necessarily dating. Even though Trunks was quickly healing the broken heart she harbored, they agreed to get to know each other before any thing romantic took place.

Trunks knew that even though that was the agreement, he and Pan were acting more and more like a couple then anything else. He didn't mind, of course, but he was worrying about Pan. Taking it slow was the main objective in their relationship, but things were moving fast. They had special ring tones for each other so they knew who called. Trunks had her on speed dial and Pan usually called him for anything she needed rather than her parents. They flirted in public, or at least that was what his mother was telling him. Drank out of the same cup, kissed each other on the cheek (though some people naturally do that), Trunks took her out to fine dining, and most of all, they walked hand-in-hand whenever they were out. So if that wasn't a description of a couple, he didn't know what was.

Trunks secretly wondered if Pan noticed as well. If she did, did she care? He hoped not.

"I have a meeting in a couple of minutes with Mr. Han," he informed her. "How about you stick around for an hour or so. We can go out for lunch after, so I can make it up to you."

"I'll go home while you have the meeting so I'm not bothering you," Pan said automatically, getting up from her seat on the futon but Trunks grabbed her arm in a flash.

"No way! You're never a bother. Besides, I'm sure Mr. Han would love to see you." Trunks seemed set on the idea.

"But I don't know him," Pan said, blinking a couple of times.

"I'm sure you'll recognize him," Trunks assured her as the intercom buzzed in.

"Sir, Mr. Han is here to see you."

"Send him in, please."

Pan looked at Trunks questioningly but he motioned for her to sit back down on the futon.

Trunks' secretary came in after a knock, keeping the door open for Mr. Han to enter. Pan made a gasp as the realization struck her. This was the same man who had witnessed her embarrassing moment with Uub. She couldn't help but blush at how ridiculous she must have looked. Suddenly, Pan wished she _hadn't_ stayed. What was Trunks trying to do?

"Ah, Mr. Briefs – I assume you will be conducting the meeting?" he said in a raspy voice.

Trunks nodded, welcoming him to a seat. "He is no longer with us, Mr. Han," knowing what the man was referring to.

Mr. Han noticed Pan. His professional demeanor melted instantaneously. "My dear," he said in a soft tone. Pan felt as if it were her grandfather talking, "How are you holding up?"

"Wonderful?" Pan stated as more of a question than an answer.

Mr. Han turned to Trunks with disapproving eyes; "That Vice President of yours really had the nerve to act so disrespectfully toward this young lady."

Trunks sat down, folding his hands in front of him and placing them on his desk. "Yes, I heard. Thus he is no longer an employee in my firm."

"Good, good," the man said allowing the words to digest. "Let's get down to business then, shall we?"

Trunks nodded his head, pulling out several papers from his file cabinet located under the left side of his sturdy desk.

"The market so far is holding at a steady pace," Trunks began.

"Yes it is," agreed Mr. Han. "Proves highly beneficial for your company. You are able to sell more products."

"Too many, in fact," Trunks agreed. "That is why we need your assistance in helping us getting the material from our major providers. The products on the shelves are running low fast but we are unable to build more when our shipping is slow."

Pan felt her eyes close as the meeting continued, eventually falling asleep.

She didn't know when, but Pan's consciousness came back to reality as her eyes continued to stay closed. She figured there was no point in opening them just so the glaring light can penetrate her discombobulated eyes. She listened to Trunks' conversation, hoping whatever it was they were talking about, could put her back to sleep.

But the conversation was interesting.

"As a benefit for your services, we will gladly help you advertise your company on an international basis," Trunks said.

"International basis? That's quite expensive." Mr. Han sounded impressed.

"A couple of million will not put a dent in my account if you agree to help us. With your assistance, my company can put out more equipment then you can even begin to imagine. With that money, I can help your company advertise."

"Who will do it?"

"I know someone who's majored in Advertising. She's very skilled at what she does and her experience is incredible. She was turned down by one company in California, but I'd rather have her on my side anyway."

"Who is this person you speak of?" Mr. Han was very intrigued. "She must be some woman if Capsule Corporation wants her on their side."

"Pan Son," Trunks said.

If Pan weren't slightly dazed, she would have fell off the futon. How did he know about her major? She racked through memories of them together, trying to recall if she had said anything about advertising or even California but nothing came to mind. She was sure to ask after Mr. Han left.

"Incredible!" Mr. Han exclaimed, clapping his hands. "This young lady seems to be a golden opportunity for us!"

"She's more than that sir," Trunks replied in a low voice.

"Am I sensing something, Mr. Briefs?" the man asked knowingly.

"Let's just say she's something out of a dream. A dream I never thought was possible."

"Well, dreams come true to those who need it. Maybe this is yours. You did well in picking a lovely lady. Too bad she's asleep at the moment."

"Wait, how did you –"

"- Know who she was? Simple," Pan could almost picture the older man shrug, "Mr. Uub happened to shout out her name the last time I was in. I just felt so horrible for the girl that the name never really escaped me – even at my old age."

The two businessmen laughed. Chairs slid as Mr. Han made his exit out of the office. Before he left, he turned back around with a gleam in his eye.

"Great doing business with you Mr. Briefs. I'll reconstruct my routings and have a few of the trucks pick up the items from the warehouse. They'll be in your possession no later than two days."

He left, leaving Trunks to gaze at Pan's sleeping form. He gave a heavy sigh, making his way toward the young woman. Before he could tap her awake, her eyes fluttered open.

"How long have you been awake?" Trunks quirked an eyebrow.

"Long enough to hear you hiring me as your Advertising Personnel," Pan grinned.

"Does that mean you heard everything after it as well?" Trunks became uneasy. They were friends. But he made it sound like she was his 'one'.

"Yes, I did," Pan gave a small smile, her eyes downcast.

Trunks was almost afraid to ask, "And?"

"And," she continued, "I think you're completely and utterly amazing Mr. Trunks Briefs."

Trunks wasn't sure how it happened but he found himself at her side instantly, hugging her with all the strength permitted as to not injure her.

"At least you can find a word to describe me," his cheek pressed against her cheek. "I'm having difficulty in describing you. Beautiful, gorgeous, incredible, amazing, smart, fun… there's no one word that will truly describe how you are to me. Nothing seems fitting."

Pan flushed, unable to say anything at the moment. Taking deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart, she turned her head slightly and pecked him on the cheek.

"You give me too much credit," she chuckled.

Trunks held onto each of her shoulders, squaring her so that she was facing him directly.

"No," he murmured softly, "I don't think I give you enough credit."

And with that he leaned in, capturing her lips.

---

**Author's Note: So that was definitely cute... Sorry it took so long to update this chapter. Been doing a lot of stuff, getting ready for college and yeah. This chapter is unedited. I didn't have time and I didn't want to make you guys wait anymore. So I hope you enjoyed it. The plot will pick up speed in about 2 or 3 chapters. Until then, enjoy the romance. **

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	9. Winner

Chapter Nine: Winner

_"What we need to know about loving is no great mystery. We all know what constitutes loving behavior; we need but act upon it, not continually question it. Over-analysis often confuses the issue and in the end brings us no closer to insight. We sometimes become too busy classifying, separating, and examining, to remember that love is easy. It's we who make it complicated."_

_- Leo Buscaglia_

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_

Complete bliss. The single two words that could accurately describe Pan's life at the moment. Trunks led her into the small restaurant, holding her hand tightly. She loved the feeling of his broad hand grasping her little one's. She felt like she belonged with Trunks and no one else. It was a feeling of possessiveness that slowly began to grip her, much like his hand.

_I'm his. Only his._

And only one kiss made her realize the hidden passion between herself and Trunks Briefs. How cliché.

But the abrupt truth overwhelmed her in that second. It was incredible to imagine. Just plain _unbelievable_. This feeling of being loved was insanely strong. Bubbling throughout her body and erupting through her actions.

Yet behind all the new feelings was a nagging thought. He was obviously hiding something. It seemed that sometimes his words came out too calculated. Too _normal._ But Pan wasn't sure what she was looking for and doubted that she'd guess whatever it was he was hiding. So until he felt ready to tell her, she'd allow her thoughts to submerse.

Trunks and Pan made it to the quaint little restaurant without any photographers tagging along. Much to their relief.

Coming to the counter, Trunks asked for a table for two. The woman behind the desk lightly scowled at Pan but nodded nonetheless. Pan scrunched her nose at the gesture she received and leaned up toward Trunks' ear.

"Did you see that?" she whispered.

Trunks raised an eyebrow, "See what?"

"The scowl she gave me! It looked like she was getting ready to kill me," Pan laughed a little.

"I didn't even notice her. I was too busy looking at your reflection from the kitchen window."

Pan choked back a cough. She was speechless. In normal times, she may have smacked the person who said that to her knowing full well that it was just a corny line used to make girls feel better. But for some reason, she knew Trunks meant what he said, just like the other times when he lifted her from her personal demons. He was Trunks. The man. Not the boy like Uub was.

Then her eyes narrowed at him, with a hint of laughter in them, "How corny."

Trunks laughed and gazed at Pan, "Maybe so, but it's the truth."

Sitting down, the waitress diverted her attention toward Trunks. She intentionally turned her back against Pan and hunched over just a bit. Smiling brightly she took out a pen and pad to write down the orders. More like Trunks' order.

"What can I get you to drink?"

Trunks ignored the 'you' and motioned toward Pan who was looking out the window, biting her lip. This woman had a lot of confidence in her. More than he was used to and it was irritating him to pieces. But he kept his cool and transfixed his attention at the raven beauty in front of him.

"Pan love, what would you like to drink?" Trunks grinned widely at her, giving her a flirtatious wink.

"Um, hot cocoa if you have any," she said to the woman who still had her back turned. Her darker side wanted to spit on the woman's face. But her entire being felt very uncomfortable and briefly wondered if Trunks was noticing the woman at all. Her heart slightly sank at the thought of this woman being appealing to Trunks.

Getting no answer from the woman, Trunks coughed lightly. He briefly glanced at her face then turned his attention back to Pan who seemed a little paler than normal. He guessed it was because of this obnoxious woman who still had no intention of taking Pan's order. He'd have to fix that.

"Hot cocoa for my girlfriend please," he stated firmly. "And one coffee for me."

Pan's jaw slackened. Girlfriend. How peculiar that this simple little word sent waves of satisfaction through her. They hadn't confirmed their relationship considering she didn't know exactly where they stood. Of course as any female would, she hoped for something along the lines of – well – girlfriend. So hearing it coming from his lips sent her on cloud nine. Her heart fluttered so loud that she wouldn't have been surprised if Trunks could hear it.

Little did she know, Trunks' acute sense of hearing could pick up the beatings of her heart, making him grin – showing all his pearly whites, dazzling Pan along with the waitress.

The woman's face turned different fazes until finally settling on a sour look and wrote down the drinks.

Pan watched her leave with a distant look in her eyes. This was not going to be the last time she experienced hostility from females. Women were constantly throwing themselves at the man before her. What if one day he noticed and enjoyed it? Was she ready for that?

"Are you okay?" Trunks asked, concern lacing in his voice.

"To say no would be a lie," Pan sighed.

"So honestly, you're not," he guessed. "Would you like to share? Maybe I can ease your thoughts," he hinted.

"It's stupid."

"There will never be a time where I think your thoughts are stupid. They matter a great deal to me," he said seriously.

"I just wonder how you manage to ignore all those looks from girls," she said in a low voice, rephrasing her thoughts so that it didn't come out in jealous hisses. Pan didn't want him to hear her. Chagrin washed all over her and her low self-esteem. But to her dismay, he had heard her with his freakishly accurate hearing.

"Pan," he said in a scolding voice, "I ignore them the same way you ignore all those men staring at you."

Pan's head shot up in surprise, "What men?" That's a first.

"Those men across the diner and the ones at the bar, right there," he simply said. Maybe he shouldn't have mentioned that. He was already to a brink of boiling from all the looks Pan was getting; he didn't need to egg it on by acknowledging it out loud. What if she enjoyed the attention?

"Well tell them to stop," Pan said.

Trunks laughed, amazed at her response. So she wasn't enjoying it after all. That's good news. "I would but I don't settle well with just talks."

"What do you mean?" Pan was confused.

"I mean," Trunks started slowly, enjoying Pan's confusion, "I get physical when I think someone is looking at my girlfriend in the wrong manner. So if you expect me to just _tell_ them to stop, it's not going to happen. A punch or two will clear it up for them, though."

He assessed Pan's facial expression. It went from confusion to shock in mere seconds. He couldn't help but grin at her.

"Oh," she managed to say, "then uh… stay put."

"Yes ma'am."

The waitress came back with their drinks. "Have you guys decided on what to eat?"

Pan noticed she was being acknowledged for the first time since they sat down and shook her head. Once again, Trunks wrapped her up in a conversation that she forgot to look at the menu. This was highly embarrassing. He needed to stop with his distractions. At least for now.

The waitress didn't seem all that happy. Trunks' annoyance was returning by the second with this woman. If he were to say something to her, then his behavior would be in the papers and his mother would deep-fry him. But he was going to act in favor of Pan who was being physically attacked by this obnoxious woman. Yeah. That's right. That was a good line to give his mother. But faking the bruises would be a tough one. Oh well, nothing make-up won't be able to handle.

But just as he was about to open his mouth, Pan was already talking. "Ma'am I don't know what your problem is but if taking my order is so painful then I suggest you get one of your co-workers to do the job for you. That is, if you can stop ogling my boyfriend long enough to even talk to someone."

The waitress' mouth dropped as the entire dining room stopped and witnessed the scene among them. Trunks covered his mouth in order to prevent himself from bursting into laughter. He recalled seeing her blunt attitude the first day he saw her and to be honest, he loved it, and seeing it again sent thrills through his mind. But could anyone blame him? This woman was feisty beneath all the gorgeousness. It was so sexy!

The woman snorted and walked away, mumbling about how she wasn't paid enough to deal with customers like her. Pan's eyes narrowed at the retreating woman but leaned back in her chair with a sigh. She faced Trunks who still had his hand over his mouth.

"What?"

"I think you showed her who was boss," he commented, coughing down his chuckle.

"No, I just showed her how idiotic she was being staring at something I owned." Pan shrugged her shoulders. The nerve of the woman.

This time it was Trunks' turn to be completely speechless. "I'm owned, am I?"

"Yup."

Trunks chuckled, "Well, you're the sexiest owner a man could want."

"You need something sexy to be sexy," Pan smirked and winked at him.

Trunks shook his head disbelievingly, "Last time I checked, it was a man's duty to flatter the girl not the other way around. You're taking my role in this relationship."

"Flattery won't get you anywhere."

"It's gets a woman in bed," Trunks' voice came out in husks. Pan could tell he was doing it on purpose but she couldn't help but narrow her eyes on the man before her.

He held up his hands in defense, "I'm only kidding."

"Sure you were," Pan nodded her head, but rolled her eyes at his pathetic attempt to lie. What could you expect from men? Not a whole lot when it came to that situation.

"Besides," Pan continued, "I'm on."

Trunks wasn't sure who the blushing one was but he figured it was him. Of all things to say, she just had to go and say that in front of everyone. Now people would really think he's trying to get into her pants, when honestly that wasn't the case. No, he wanted to do this the right way. But what's the harm in teasing? Because that's all it was, friendly teasing. But Ms. Pan Son just had to mention her female cycle.

He coughed, rubbing the back of his head, "I really was kidding, Pan."

"Just making sure you don't get any ideas mister," Pan wagged a finger at him.

"I promised you I'd do everything your way. And that included – ahem – intercourse."

Pan laughed at his choice of word. She grinned at him, "I know silly. Though are you always this professional?"

"No, not really," he gave it a thought. He frowned, "At least I hope not."

"Guess I'll find out in bed," she laughed as another waitress made her way toward them. Trunks blushed.

This woman was slightly older than the previous. Pan noted the ring on her left finger and breathed out a sigh of relief. She honestly didn't feel like wasting time with another crazy female, but then again – just because she was married didn't mean she couldn't hit on Trunks. This riled her up again. Damn it.

Much to her pleasant surprise the woman was incredibly modest. She even commented on what a cute couple they were, which made Pan love the woman. After placing their orders, Trunks and Pan were once again left alone.

"Pan," Trunks took her hand in his and gazed down at her, "I want you to meet my family," he said slowly. "They would kill me if I didn't introduce the infamous woman who finally caught my interest."

Wow. Meeting the family already. When had they started going out, again? Oh yeah – this morning. Would it be rude to mention that to Trunks? Emphasizing on how soon this was considering they haven't even gone through a day yet. What if they broke up in a week or so? Was he being confident? Did he know that they were going to be together for a long time? Or was it just a guess? Or perhaps an instinct?

"But, we just started dating." So how is it that Trunks' parents want to meet her? She couldn't even produce the question correctly in her mind. This was confusing.

"I know," Trunks nodded, not understanding what she meant.

"So how do you know they're dying to meet me when we just got together this morning? You're making it seem like we've been dating for a while now," Pan stated slowly, hoping she was making sense.

She did. Trunks leaned back with a sudden realization. As if he let out a big secret.

He coughed nervously, "I may have mentioned you to my parents a couple of times…"

Pan raised an eyebrow.

"Ok, so most of the time," he admitted grinning.

Pan laughed. He was incredible. But also confusing. Why was he treating her like a prize rather than a lucky winner?

Then, another thought dawned on her.

Pan felt all color drain from her face. What if the Briefs didn't like her? They were so sophisticated compared to her. She was so plain and… plain. This wasn't even making sense. It was like Yin and Yang, yet there was no shape she took that made her fit perfectly with Trunks. She couldn't mold her life to be equivalent to his or his family. To her, the Briefs were practically royalty. So was it a good idea to meet them?

_Of course it is! You're dating their son! You'll meet them eventually._ She sighed.

"Are you okay?" Trunks asked after several moments of silence. Was this too fast for her? Anxiousness crawled up his body and infected his mind and thoughts. What if he screwed it up? He silently cursed his Saiyan side. Maybe if he wasn't part alien, he wouldn't fall in love so fast – then he and Pan would be on the same page. The page where love doesn't come first, but friendship. But could he be her friend while so drawn to her? No. He decided. He couldn't.

"Is it too much?" he whispered, afraid he did some kind of mental damage. "You don't have to meet them," he added quickly.

The last part burned Pan. This was Trunks. His family would be just like him: loving, caring, understanding. And having Trunks sacrifice for her tore her from the core. He was too understanding to be real. It's like he had no needs when it came to her.

"No, Trunks. I would _love_ to meet your family."

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**Author's Note:**

**Thank you sooooo much for the wonderful reviews! I love you guys so much for sticking through the story this far. I hope I still have your interest because next chapter is going to be dramaaa. Haha. Take care and PLEASEEE REVIEW!**


	10. Secrets

Chapter Ten: Secrets

The most perfidious way of harming a cause consists of defending it deliberately with faulty arguments.

**- ****Friedrich Nietzsche**

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The Briefs had something very trademark-y about themselves. When news arrived, they took it big. Whether it's good news or bad news, the Briefs made a scene. More so on the good than the bad. Bulma Briefs, in particular usually went all out with things like these. She hosts a party that ends up on front page of the tabloids. She would invite around 500 people, all from work and then tell them to bring a friend. It was peachy, in Trunks' opinion. Then again, that was just sarcasm. 500 people meant at least half of them were female. So with a turn to the left and a turn to the right he was usually bombarded with at least 45% of the women there. The other remaining were either married and can't get away from their husbands, too old, or just lesbians.

So when Trunks Briefs just so happened to mention him bringing Pan to meet them, she was ecstatic. Scratch that she was delusional. And saying delusional was probably the best way to describe his mother when she began planning the invitations for a party dedicated to Trunks and his new girlfriend. His mother must not know him at all if she thought he was going to allow her to invite all of Japan for a meeting with his family. If that was so necessary, he could do it himself. It wasn't hard. That's what advertising is for. Hence, delusional.

So an argument pursued his protest and eventually, it was agreed that only his mother, father, sister, and Marron's family would attend. That latter was an exception. Trunks tried to argue that the Chestnuts weren't needed considering they weren't family but his mother scolded him.

"_Now Trunks," _she had said,_ "you know the Chestnuts have been great friends to us. It's only proper that we invite them as well."_

"_But mom!" his frustration was going to wear thin with Bulma's ridiculous excuses. "They've been trying to set me up with Marron for as long as I can remember. Don't you think it would be a little awkward having them around?"_

_Why was that so hard to grasp?!_

_But Bulma wouldn't hear it. Her eyes narrowed at the tall young man and pointed a finger at him. "Trunks, they will not say anything about your relationship with Pan! Stop being childish and help me set up. I'm sure Marron is fine about you and Pan."_

"_I highly doubt that," he muttered under his breath._

"_What was that?"_

"_Nothing!"_

Now the tables were set, the food was cooked, the house was clean, and everyone was present except for Pan. Well, actually the Chestnuts were early. Trunks looked down at his watch. Only ten more minutes and he would finally be able to see her. It was becoming excruciating, living through minutes and even seconds without seeing her. Her gorgeous smile, her chocolate eyes, her laughter.

Trunks shook his head, ridding of the distraction. Turning to his family he rolled up his white dress-shirt and eyed each of them.

"Okay, she'll be here any minute so you guys have to remember that she doesn't know about Saiyans, yet. So we can't talk about flying, ki balls, Kami, fights, and anything else that would be out of the ordinary."

"Don't forget dad's eating habits," Bulla chimed in happily, grinning at her stoic father.

Vegeta rolled his eyes but nodded nonetheless, sensing his son's plea. It was one night so he could probably deal with it. But if there were so much as a second night, he'd screw the rules and watch the girl stumble out of the house after watching a Saiyan eat.

"She doesn't know about Saiyans?" Marron voiced innocently.

Trunks glowered at her, "No. Not yet. But she will."

Marron shrugged, looking thoughtful. "If you care about her so much, I'd figure she'd know about your heritage already. You must not love her as much as you say."

Trunks' lips thinned, breathing in calmly. "I do love her, Marron. I don't need an analysis from you."

She was about to reply when the doorbell rang. Trunks jumped slightly and rushed to the door. He turned his head back to give them one last silent plea to comply with everything and opened the door.

His breath caught in his throat. She was dressed in a red turtleneck knit sweater that hugged her torso comfortably and dark blue jeans that outlined her hips. Her hair was up in a slightly messy bun. White gold earrings dangled from her ears, flashing in the light. Her make up was natural tainted with a blush on both cheeks. She smiled brilliantly, illuminating her teeth that shined bright white.

He coughed, shaking his head.

"You look amazing," he managed to say as he pulled her close, giving her a kiss atop of her head.

She grinned at him, taking his profile in. "Not so shabby yourself."

Wearing a white dress-shirt with the cuffs rolled back to his forearms and a black dress-pant and shoes to match, he looked highly classy but not to a point of office uniform.

He led her in, with a hand on the small of her back. The grin on his face refused to drop as he guided her to the living room where everyone was waiting.

"I'm nervous," she whispered before coming into view with the Briefs. Her anxiousness grew at the sight of Marron.

However, her sight was blocked as Mrs. Briefs stepped into her view. She smiled warmly, extending her arms.

"You must be Pan!"

The woman gave her a hug that reminded her of her own mother. She bit her lip and swallowed the memory away, returning the warm gesture.

"You must be Mrs. Briefs. It's wonderful to finally meet you!"

"Likewise, Pan. But you can call me Bulma. No formalities here."

Pan nodded as Trunks began to count off everyone, introducing them one by one.

"This is Bulla, my sister; and my father, Vegeta." Pan bowed respectfully as Bulla waved eagerly and Vegeta nodded once.

"You'll have to excuse him, Pan dear," Bulma voiced, placing a hand on her shoulder. "He's not much of a talker."

"Why talk when you talk enough for the entire family, woman?" Vegeta smirked. Bulma glowered at him.

Then came the nightmare.

"This is Krillin and his wife Eighteen. You've met Marron already." Trunks didn't linger on them much. A quick wave of acknowledgement and that was it.

"Oh my gosh, my brother wasn't exaggerating when he said you were gorgeous!" Bulla grinned eagerly. "You're sooooo pretty!"

Marron rolled her eyes at Bulla. She had the tendency of believing everything she heard, even after she saw it. Slightly dense in her opinion but they were family.

Pan blushed and hit Trunks on the arm.

"Thank you so much. But you're practically flawless, Bulla." Pan said sincerely. It was true. Bulla Briefs had to be one of the world's hottest celebrities. Aside from Trunks, Bulla's pictures were plastered all over magazines. Even though none of them were posed, they still looked amazing. A twinge of jealousy shot through Pan at how flawless Trunks' family was and how un-flawless hers were. Completely different worlds and yet Trunks preferred her over Marron. The beautiful blonde who didn't seem too happy to see her.

They sat down at dinner, with Trunks close to Pan. Across from them were Krillin and his wife with Marron on the other side of Eighteen. Bulla was sitting next to Pan, eagerly talking about what they could do together. Bulma and Vegeta sat at either end of the table as heads of the household.

"So Pan, my son tells me you and him have been good friends for a while now." Bulma started the conversation.

Pan nodded as the servers placed their food in front of them.

"Yes ma'am. It's been about a year and couple of months now, I think."

"Isn't that during the time you and Uub were dating?" Marron chimed in. She wore a big grin on her face as Pan flinched slightly. Everyone noticed.

Trunks shot her a glare from across the table as his hand found Pan's under the cloth. Squeezing it lightly he turned to Marron with a scowl on his face.

"That's really not important, Marron," he shot coolly.

Marron shrugged. "I was only stating."

"Well keep your predictable chatter to yourself," he snapped.

Bulma coughed lightly, feeling the tension. Pan looked down, feeling as if the entire world refused to let go of something she learned to dismiss. With reminders like that, would she be able to fully heal?

"So, what about your parents, Pan? How are they?" Bulma tried again. Perhaps Trunks was right when he said Marron and her family shouldn't be here. This was beyond awkward.

"Oh, uh – they're fine." Pan choked, remembering her less-than-cordial relationship with her mother. "They live off near the mountains. They're not city people so they have the quiet country side."

"How nice," Bulma commented.

"Do you fight, brat?" Vegeta asked bluntly, taking huge bite off of the chicken leg.

Pan's eyes slightly widened. "I – uh – I," she stuttered, unable to pull herself together as she watched Mr. Briefs devour the remnants of his food.

"Of course not, honey!" Bulma gritted with a fake smile plastered across her face. She had the look that said, Watch-It on her face.

"Oh, well actually – I do. I mean, I'm sure it's nothing compared to you Mr. Briefs but I took a couple of lessons when I was younger and I sometimes go to class to stay in shape." Pan felt she had to prove that she was somewhat interesting. She didn't want them to think she was too _boring_ for their son.

"See," Vegeta pointed arrogantly. "The girl does know how to fight! So quit speaking for her! She's got her own set of vocals for a reason, stupid woman."

Before Bulma could reply, Trunks interjected.

"You know mom, Pan will be our new advertiser with the new deal," he added hastily, giving a nervous chuckle.

It caught her interest. Bulma clapped her hands in excitement.

"How wonderful!"

"Yeah, she'll be helping me advertise Mr. Han's company."

Bulma beamed at Pan.

Pan smiled back, feeling the warm fuzzy feeling that she forgot. It was the same feeling she got when her own mother was proud of her. When her eyes shined brilliantly at her accomplishments. But now, it was nothing. Trunks' mother triggered that lost emotion from deep inside her. And it took everything she had to keep from crying.

Marron was slightly annoyed with all the pointless chatter. This girl couldn't possibly be that great. Everyone had their flaw, their little nasty and it was time she showed it.

She coughed lightly and sat down her fork. "So Pan, after that big break up I would think you'd give it some time before you started dating again. Did Trunks force you or something?" She laughed.

Pan heard a noise that sounded close to a growling. She realized that it was Trunks when his hand twitched at his sides.

"We closed the subject on Uub, Marron. Why dwell on the past?" he hissed.

His anger boiled from his roots to the tip of toes. His entire body wanted to shake in rage at the comment but he contained it. Acting on his anger would only make him turn Super and he wasn't ready for Pan to see his other side. The darker side that wanted to fight and rip away from humanity.

"It's a reasonable question," Marron countered. "I mean – if it were me, I'd give it a thought or two. Make sure the guy is truly what he says he is. You never know he might be hiding a secret or two underneath all that chivalry."

Pan may have been clueless as to how the subject came about, but she was not dumb enough to presume that wasn't a little hint from Marron. Though she wasn't sure what exactly she was talking about, it was still something. A bigger meaning then it appeared. And she was right when Bulma jerked the table, spilling all the wine onto the table and on Pan's clothes.

She looked at Trunks who had deepened his glare. This time his teeth were bared. It seemed like he was holding back an animal inside of him. A beast that was ready to jump out and shred the blonde woman to pieces. What was she getting herself into? Was that it? Was that what Trunks was hiding? She had sensed it before but never really thought about it figuring he'd tell her in the end. What if he never did? Would she be ok with that?

Pan realized she wasn't ready to be lied to again. She'd made sure Trunks knew that.

"W-what?" Pan felt lightheaded. Nothing was making sense at the moment. What was Marron talking about? Why did Bulma freak out after? Why was Trunks so angry? And why did everyone look nervous?

"Trunks, honey, I think you should take Pan upstairs to change into fresh clothes. I'm terribly sorry for spilling everything on you dear." Bulma rushed to call the cleaners as Trunks pulled her upstairs.

"What's going on?" she finally asked when they were alone in his room. Trunks was busily looking through his closet for some of his clothes to give. Clearly avoiding her question.

"Trunks," she repeated, this time more firmly. "What's going on?"

But he didn't say anything. He finally turned back around after grabbing a long shirt. He handed it to her without meeting her eyes.

"I'll be back. I'm going to get you some jeans from my sister's closet." His voice was coarse and rough. As if he was biting back something.

Pan bit her lip. What had she missed? She backed toward Trunks' king sized bed and sat down in a daze. Glancing at the shirt she wondered whether this was a mistake. Wondered if they were going to fast. Wondered if Marron was trying to say she was a better option than herself.

Trunks came back in. He didn't want to say anything. His anger was at its highest right now and he refused to let his frustration out on Pan. It wasn't her fault. She didn't know what was going on. She didn't know about his heritage. But Marron. She did. She knew everything and used it against him. Her selfishness was proving to be more dominant as she jabbed hints at Pan. Hoping she would understand what she was saying without her actually saying it aloud.

Trunks sighed feeling guilty. She sat there, still unknowing of his presence. Probably thinking he's a monster. Though Trunks would have denied it at first, he was slowly beginning to believe that he truly was a monster. A monster that was lying to her about several important matters that she had the right to know. And the sad thing was, he wasn't lying for her protection but because of his fear. His own selfishness that was persistently telling him that if she found out about Saiyans, she'd leave him forever. And he wasn't ready for that. He couldn't let her go after developing strong feelings for her.

"I'm sorry," he managed to say after what seemed like hours.

He walked over to her slowly. He handed the pants and sat down next to her.

She looked up. He stopped breathing, realizing how hard she was trying to prevent herself from crying.

"Did I do something?" she asked quietly.

"What! Of course not! It's not you Pan," Trunks exclaimed in anger.

Pan shrunk. "Then why are you lying to me?"

"I'm not lying, baby," he soothed, rubbing his hands up and down her arms. He pulled her close to him, his head resting on top of hers. "I wouldn't willingly lie to you." Yet that was a lie itself. He was beginning to hate himself.

"But you are," she insisted in the same quiet voice. "And I don't understand why."

"It's Marron. She's just stepping out of line."

"She loves you."

"But I am deeply in love with Pan Son." He squeezed her tight, slightly gagging at the thought of Marron loving him.

"Will you tell me eventually?"

"But I already told you-"

"Will you?" She asked, pulling away from him. Looking at him with a sad plea, she whispered, "Will you please? I don't need to know now if you'll tell me later."

Trunks sighed, closing his eyes. He nodded after a few moments of silent breathing. "I will."

Pan leaned back into him. Hugging him tight, she let the tears flow from her eyes.

"I promised you this would be about you. But you'll have to forgive me on this and make an exception. I'm just not ready yet. But I promise you, that I will tell you," he murmured into her hair, filling his nostrils with her scent.

Pan nodded her head as they sat there, hugging each other.

"I love you Trunks."

"I love you too Pan. Always."

Closing his eyes, he rested his cheek against her head. His keen hearing picked up on the conversation downstairs and from what he could tell. Bulla was giving Marron an earful.

"What the fuck was that, Marron!" she yelled.

"What do you mean?"

"Your little stunt earlier! Trunks _said_ Pan didn't know about Saiyans. What gave you permission to tell her! You're jeopardizing our families lives with your big mouth!"

"Well if it's such a problem why the hell is he with her? How does he know she won't turn against him when she finds out about Saiyans? I'm just doing him a favor and weeding her out."

"You know what," Bulla's voice came in a calmer tone, "I think you're jealous."

"Me? Jealous! Of what, _Princess?"_

"Jealous that Pan caught my brother's attention faster than you can even blink! You know every time he comes and visits us, he's always saying how wonderful or amazing Pan is. And you know the best part Marron?" Trunks could tell his sister was having a field day rubbing the facts in Marron's face. "The best part is, throughout the entire time he's known you, he's never once mentioned how great or wonderful _you_ were."

"You think that's funny, Bulla?"

"Hilarious."

"You and I both know that if little miss Pan hadn't broken up with Uub, Trunks and I would be dating by now. He needed an image and a friend that knew _him_ and that was me. Me Bulla, not miss know-it-all Pan Son. She didn't even exist until she started dating Uub. Probably a gold-digger. And now she's got the richest of them all."

Trunks grit his teeth in anger. His jaw locked and body tensed but he continued to hold Pan. More to keep himself from stomping on Marron's face at the moment then anything else. For some reason, Pan's presence was calming him. And for that he was thankful and he felt Marron should be too. Or else she would be a dead half android right now.

"I think you need to come back to reality and face the facts. You and your stupid jealousy just wrecked everything tonight. I personally _love_ Pan. She's awesome and very sincere. She's been through a rough time so bitches like you need to shut up."

"I can't believe you're taking her side!"

"I'm not taking her side. I'm taking my brother's."

"So much for friendship," Marron sounded hurt.

"So much for trust."

The voices stopped.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**So this definitely took longer than expected, but I had to add in some stuff to the original chapter. I know most of you guys were expecting Vegeta to be a bit um.. Vegeta-like but this chapter was intended on starting the action. So I hope you guys enjoyed it and thank you soo much for the reviews. Please review again and let me know how it was. THANK YOU!!**


	11. Damaging Confrontation

_O! beware, my lord, of jealousy;   
It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock   
The meat it feeds on. _

_- William Shakespeare, __Othello_

* * *

Chapter Eleven: Damaging Confrontation

Trunks knew the dinner date did not go particularly well. Hell, it was the complete opposite. It would be a miracle if Pan thought his family were understanding, nice people. And he'd have to thank Marron for that. Her incapability to keep her jealousy in check ruined everything. Perhaps the most annoying part of it was that her parents allowed her to continue talking.

He was thankful that Bulla stayed on his side. Trunks knew his mother wouldn't dare bring the subject up to Krillin and Eighteen. Merely because of the fact that they are close family friends and it would be very rude. An overwhelming urge to shake his mother swept over him. Why couldn't she see what Marron and her family were doing?

Their little princess fell in love with a man who definitely did not return her feelings. Did Marron even know this? Was she aware of the fact that Trunks never saw her in any way other than a sister? He wasn't sure, but his hands itched to hit something.

He yanked the phone off the receiver and pushed a three-digit number, connecting him to his secretary.

"Yes Mr. Briefs?"

"Call Marron Chestnut and ask her to come to my office. I have something important to discuss with her. If Pan comes in, while Marron is here, send her in," he instructed.

"Yes, sir."

Trunks set the phone back in its place before leaning back in his chair. He debated on whether or not Marron deserved to be talked to like a human being or should he let his anger out. He wasn't sure so he decided that it all depended on whether she wanted to listen or not.

An hour passed by and a knock came at his door. Trunks tidied up his desk and straightened his posture, hands folded in front of him.

He cleared his throat, "Come in."

Marrons stepped in with her usual attire. Pink everything. Not very surprising. She gave him a grin, not at all suspecting the upcoming conversation and comfortably seated herself across from him.

Trunks' eyes narrowed at the devious woman, which instantly triggered an understanding of what the rendezvous may be about. It was obvious it wasn't what she was thinking. But she could give it a try.

"So, Trunks… what's the occasion that you had to call me to your office?" Marron blinked repeatedly as a huge grin appeared once again.

"The occasion, Marron, is a little conversation between the two of us concerning your behavior yesterday," Trunks hissed.

"My behavior?" She asked, seeming confused. "What did I do?"

"More like what _didn't _you do, Marron," he corrected. "Your little questioning screwed up one of the most important nights of my life. Because of you, Pan probably thinks we're weird people playing with her mind!"

"Technically, we are 'weird'," she quoted the last bit. "You and your dad are aliens and my mom is an android. So she wouldn't be off with that guess." Marron shrugged nonchalantly.

Trunks slammed a hand down on the table, leaning over the table. "Listen here Marron. You have no right to interfere with my businesses, personal or not. You may be a family friend but that little title can be pulled out from right under your feet in seconds. Don't ever think, even once, that I will _ever_ view you as more than a sister. I never did and I never will. Pan is my future and no where in that sentence do you hear your name, so butt out."

Marron's eyes narrowed at the man before her, "Oh how cute! It's funny how you seemingly fall in love with this girl when you don't know anything about her! I've known you my entire life, Trunks! What's wrong with me?!"

"Just because you and I have known each other a while doesn't mean I _have_ to have romantic feelings for you! Why can't you just accept that and move on?"

"Because I love you! I've always been there for you! I thought you noticed that!" Marron's eyes started to water.

Trunks sighed, "I have noticed that. But Marron, I only saw that as a friendly gesture and nothing more. I'm sorry – but Pan is the one for me. I know it."

He almost felt bad for her. But that suddenly changed.

"That bitch will leave you the second she finds out you're a freak!"

Trunks' hands twitched at his sides.

"You don't know anything Marron. If you took a second to pull your nose from the sky and your head out of your ass, you'd realize just how wrong you are."

The words came out in silent hisses. Trunks was never the one to actually curse at a woman, but Marron was an exception. She's been an exception to a lot of things.

"Maybe you should stop exaggerating your feelings for someone who will never understand you. Don't come crying to me when the world finds out about all of us. We'll see what kind of an experiment you and your family will be."

"I'm more afraid that your mental illness will aid in blowing our cover more than anyone else." Trunks smirked, knowing he'd really insulted her. He didn't care though. No – she was asking for it and she deserved it.

"Are you calling me stupid, Trunks Briefs?" Marron gapped disbelievingly.

"Take it as you want it, Marron. You tell me – but while you're thinking, let me just warn you – you harm Pan in anyway and I'm going to make your life a living hell until I suck out every ounce of life out of you. Got it?" Trunks threatened. His eyes flashed angrily at her.

Marron froze.

There was a knock on Trunks' door. Trunks felt out Pan's ki and walked toward the door. He glanced one more time at Marron, who was frozen still and opened the door.

Pan stood in her usual casual warm outfit. She grinned at him but her smile vanished at the sight of Marron. Before she could even ask, Trunks had pulled her into a mind-blowing kiss.

"What was that for?" Pan giggled breathing heavy.

Trunks shrugged, "I just missed you."

There was a shuffle as Marron got up from her seat. She glared and Pan and glared at Trunks until they both felt the intensity of it.

"You'll regret every single word you said Trunks. Count on it. I don't settle well with competition." Her voice was low and cold sending a slight fear through Pan's veins. Trunks seemed calm about it but she wasn't sure how well she was assessing his mood when her own was at frenzy.

She left.

"What is she talking about?" Pan looked up at her boyfriend's face.

He shrugged again, "I don't know. I think she's on her monthly cycle. She took things too harshly, I suppose."

"What were you guys talking about?"

"Just telling her to leave us alone. She needs to stop her little plans because I'm not leaving you for anything or anybody."

"Oh Should I be worried?"

"Pan," he squared her shoulders and looked into her eyes seriously. "I promise to you that no one or thing will ever harm you as long as I'm around."

Pan wasn't sure if she should be flattered or concerned. Its just Marron. Right? How much damage could she possibly do? She wasn't sure – but the thought didn't settle well. Actually, it didn't settle at all.

"So," Trunks clapped his hands together, interrupting her thoughts, "what do you say to a lunch date?"

"Ok, let's go."

--

Outside in the parking lot, Marron gritted her teeth as tears poured down her cheeks. How could he do this to her? All of the times she was by his side, it was for nothing! But to her words, she will stand true. She doesn't do competition, and if Trunks isn't going to understand that warning, then it's time for action. Grabbing her phone she dialed a number.

"Hello? Patch me through to the Japan Defense Agency..."

She waited until the operator punched a combination of numbers and the phone started ringing. A couple of more seconds, someone picked up.

"Hello, I cannot give you my name for the sake of my own safety - but I think you guys should know that I've just witnessed some supernatural behavior."

The person on the phone sounded skeptic.

"Proof?" Marron repeated. She thought quickly. She did have a video on her phone where she taped Trunks training a little while back and the other times before. Each showing some kind of blast emitting from his hands. Of course that was for her own enjoyment, but now it was more useful then a hot bod to stare at. She smirked. "Of course I have proof. I have lots of them... Yes I can come there I just need an address."

* * *

**Author's Note: Oh snap! Did she just do what I think she did?! Lol, anyways sorry for the super long wait. It was Christmas break so I was definitely bumming it out. Now it's back to school and back to writing. Hopefully I didn't lose you guys' interest. Please review! Thank you for those who are keeping up with this story - love you guys. **

**Quickie:**

**This chapter hasn't been edited. I'll go back and do so and let you guys know.  
Also, the Japan Defense Agency isn't a made-up term. It is actually a branch in the Japanese government ( I searched it haha ). **

**That is all for now! Hopefully I can update faster. I'm hoping so ******


	12. Found Out

_"A man's character is his fate."_

_- Heraclitus _

Chapter Twelve: Found Out

* * *

They were sitting in a quaint little restaurant. Its walls had beige mixed with light brown giving it a crispy look. Dark Cherry colored wooden booths circled the dining room, each of them having their own personal space so that customers were able to speak amongst their party, privately.

Trunks and Pan were seated by the window, which gave a view of the road and sidewalk. When looking out the window, you could see the neighboring restaurants – all with the same color theme. It had a peaceful air to it, something that set both Trunks and Pan at ease.

A waiter came to their table with a candle in a clear glass. Placing it neatly down, near the end, toward the window he took out a pen and pad.

"Hello, my name is Jin – and I'll be taking care of you guys this evening. Can I get you guys started with some drinks?"

Trunks motioned to Pan to go first. This simple gesture brought a brief memory back when her and Uub were an item.

"_What can I get you to drink, ma'am?" the waiter asked. Her and Uub decided on dining at a local restaurant for a simple date._

_Before Pan could answer, Uub spoke for her. As always._

"_She'll have a water," Uub waved nonchalantly. _

_The waiter raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure ma'am? We have a great assortment of fine wines. I can suggest a couple for you."_

"_I –" Pan started but was cut off by Uub._

"_Yes, she's positive. She's watching her figure," Uub snapped as he browsed through the menu. "And I'll have a shot of tequila." _

_The waiter glanced at Pan one last time, seeing if she agreed. Pan bit her lip – was Uub feeling ok? Since when had he heard she was watching her figure? Water was just too plain at restaurants. But she smiled weakly at the waiter and nodded her head. There was nothing she could say at the moment without starting an argument. A stupid argument to be more specific._

"_Alright," the waiter said reluctantly. "I'll be right back, then."_

_When the waiter was out of earshot, Pan turned her attention to Uub. _

"_I'm watching my figure?" she asked sarcastically, "Since when?"_

_Uub looked up and shrugged, "I figured you were with the way your body is."_

_If that was supposed to be a compliment, it didn't work. She felt stupid and unappreciated even more then ever._

"Pan? Honey?" Trunks voiced, snapping her out of her flashback.

She blushed a brilliant pink, "Um, whatever you're having," she coughed lightly as the chagrin washed over.

"Are you sure? I'm just having water."

"Oh…"

"I mean if you want water, then it's no problem," Trunks finished with a grin.

Pan thought for a moment. She raised an eyebrow curiously and looked at the waiter.

"I think I'll have a shot of tequila."

The waiter choked, clearly not expecting it. Pan wondered if she went too far with it and turned to Trunks. His mouth was agape but it soon turned into a cheeky grin.

"You heard the lady," Trunks laughed, "A shot of tequila for her."

The waiter scribbled it down and left.

"Wow," Trunks sighed, "Quite daring, aren't you?"

Pan shrugged, secretly hoping she didn't give the wrong impression. "I guess so."

"That's good though, it'll keep you warm." Trunks flashed her a brilliant smile as the waiter came back with their drinks.

"Have you guys decided on what you wanted to eat?"

Trunks glanced at Pan.

_Such a gentleman_, she thought before speaking. "I'd like the lunch special, please."

The waiter nodded, "and you, sir?"

"I'll have the same."

Jin took up the menus and left once again, leaving the couple alone.

"So, I want to apologize to you about the dinner…" Trunks started. "Marron was an idiot, as usual and messed up everything. I just hope I haven't ruined my chances of having you over again."

"It's ok, Trunks. I loved your parents and sister. Of course I'd like to come over again, if they'll have me."

Trunks' eyes beamed as a huge weight lifted itself from his chest.

"That's great!" he clapped his hands. "I'll make arrangements with my mom so that we can all go out to eat. You should invite you parents as well Pan. I still haven't met them and you never talk about them either. I'm curious."

Pan nearly choked on her sip. Thankfully, Trunks thought the drink was too strong and just laughed it off rather than questioning it.

"I – um… don't think that's a good idea right now," she said evasively.

"They wouldn't approve?" Trunks guessed quickly. Sudden thoughts of how to prove himself to her parents began to invade his mind.

"Oh, no! That's definitely not the problem. My parents will for sure love you…" she stopped short again.

He raised an eyebrow at the young woman. "Then, what's wrong? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Pan felt guilty. This was Trunks. It was sad that she had to remind herself this fact rather then letting it register in her mind forever. He was completely different then Uub. He'd accept her stupidity. The reason why she never spoke with her parents again.

Pan sighed, "I – um… don't talk with my parents anymore…"

"Oh…" was all he could say.

"Yeah. Ever since I started dating Uub – my mother and I – to be more specific haven't spoken for a very long time. She didn't accept Uub - saying he was a player and stuff. She was suggesting I date you instead but of course I was stupid and stubborn and refused to stop seeing Uub. That's when everything just kind of ended. Uub never cared, of course. He never once asked how they were. He just wasn't the type to worry about parents or my happiness. It's a shame that I realize that now rather then when it happened so I could have prevented all of this from happening. And maybe then, I'd actually have parents for you to meet."

Trunks gripped his chair in anger. He continued reminding himself to be careful before he broke something, but the emotion wasn't subsiding.

"Do you miss them?" he spoke slowly as to not reveal his fury.

That bastard was going to regret everything the moment he found him. Trunks Vegeta Briefs doesn't settle well with people like Uub. Especially if they hurt Pan.

"Of course," she sighed as a distant look enveloped her. "I miss them so much, I wish I could turn back time and redo all my faults."

"Well," Trunks started. "We make mistakes to learn from them. How about we visit them after lunch? I'm pretty sure they miss you as well."

"I don't know about that…"

Another memory hit Pan.

_She sat down across from him, slightly shaken from the walk they had. They were in a little café for a quick drink and rest before they went out into the cold again. They were shopping for his parents' anniversary. Of course Pan would have done the same a couple months ago if it weren't for the fact that she was no longer on speaking terms with her mother. It slightly pained her that Uub never particularly cared about her parents… but she didn't say a word. She never did._

Trunks cared but how could she face her mother after all that she had done. Her pride wouldn't let her give in that easily but at the same time - she missed her mother's scent and touch. She missed the warmth of her parent's home.

"I say we go and see them. It would be a great opportunity for me as well," Trunks decided.

"I –"

He placed a hand over hers and leaned in closely. "Pan, these are your parents, the single two people that could rival my love for you. They are not going to hate you for your decisions. I promise you that."

"Ok, Trunks. I trust you." Pan smiled, as she held on tighter to his hand. He returned the gesture.

Their food arrived and in about thirty minutes they were finished with their meal. Leaving a tip on the table, they left.

"Are you sure you want to meet them, Trunks? I mean they live kind of far…"

"Of course, how far is far?"

"Um – mountains, far."

Pan was waiting for him to stop his walking and turn back around but he did exactly the opposite. He grinned down at her and scooped her up.

"Well then, we better hurry up before you turn into an Ice Princess!"

And with that, Trunks took off into a run.

"Are you planning on running there?!" Pan's eyes bugged out as he neared a forest.

"No, we're going to fly." He simply replied and slowed down.

"Nice…" Pan rolled her eyes. "FYI – dear, the airport was the other way."

"Who said anything about an airplane?"

Pan furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Wha?"

Before Pan could question him further, they were in the air. Pan gasped out in surprise and clutched onto Trunks' shoulder tightly. She looked down and saw the entire city getting smaller and smaller by the second. Once they were high enough to where people couldn't see them, Trunks glanced at Pan nervously.

"I wanted to tell you, but I figured showing you would be more appropriate so that you'd believe me." Trunks said in a low voice, afraid of her reaction.

"We're flying," Pan breathed out unable to grasp what's going on.

"Yeah, we are… I hope I didn't freak you out." Trunks began to panic thinking it was too much for her.

"Wow…" was all he got.

"Pan, are you ok?" He asked, worried.

"No… I'm not ok." Pan said. Trunks thought his heart was going to drop several feet down.

"I'm more than ok! This is freaking amazing Trunks!" Pan squeaked in excitement.

Trunks felt a wave of relief flow through him as a new feeling developed. One of acceptance. He continued his flying against the searing cold as they slowly neared the mountains. Pan shivered under Trunks, snapping him into attention.

"Is this what you were going to tell me?" she asked through chattering teeth.

Trunks nodded, "Yeah – but there's more to it then just flying. I just thought showing you one at a time would be better for you so that it's not too much. You always have the option of backing out, Pan. I don't want you to feel like you're stuck with some kind of freak."

He knew he was babbling but he wanted to make sure that this was what she wanted. That she wasn't afraid of him. But the other half of him didn't want her to leave. He wasn't sure what he would do with himself if she left… Trunks was clueless.

"Are you kidding, Trunks!? This is incredible. It doesn't matter to me what kind of person you are just as long you're the same loving one I'm falling for." Pan thought he was being ridiculous for a split second, but figured there was more to it. And boy was she right.

"Even if let's say, I'm not completely human?" Trunks asked in a whisper half wishing she didn't hear him.

But she did.

"Even if you're not completely human. You could be an ape and I wouldn't care."

Trunks laughed nervously at the irony of her statement. Pan looked up at him, questioningly.

"Let's just say, you weren't too far off with that ape comment," he clarified when sensing her confusion.

Pan's mouth shaped as an 'O' and didn't say anything farther. Trunks laughed at her speechlessness and continued their journey. Pan shivered even more as the blistering cold pierced through her warm clothes, touching her skin.

"I'm not hairy like one, though," Trunks added, hoping to break the awkwardness.

Pan laughed lightly before shivering again.

"Ready for another surprise?" Trunks asked suddenly.

But he didn't wait for an answer. In a flash Pan was engulfed in a yellow flame. At first she began to freak out in her mind, confusion hitting her like a truck. Were they on fire?!

"Trunks!" Pan gasped, "Are you lighting yourself up?" But the moment she turned her head up to him, she merely stared in amazement. Everything about him changed. His hair was spiky blonde and eyes a piercing teal color. What was happening?

"I'll explain to you everything you want to know," Trunks started, not daring to look at her. "I was actually going to show you this some other time, but you're freezing and my body heat will warm you. I forget humans don't have the same strength as us considering you're the only girl I've shown this to."

"Trunks," Pan said softly, lightly griping his shoulders. "Look at me."

His jaw was clenched tightly. His eyebrows were knitted together as he stared straight ahead. Was he afraid of her reaction?

"Trunks," she said again, "please look at me."

He reluctantly did so. She saw the fear in his eyes. The expectancy to be rejected. It was silly for him to think that but Pan couldn't blame him.

"I love you," she said firmly. "It doesn't matter that you're not completely human. You're ten times better than any other guy I've ever met or will meet. Please know that I'm not going to freak out and leave you because I'm too selfish to do that. I can't be away from you."

Trunks' eyes grew softer. He breathed a sigh and held her tighter, inhaling her scent. "I love you too, Pan. I love you too."

---

The man before her stood skeptical. He was dressed in a dark green suit that had several patches of rankings on the shoulder. A badge was clipped onto his breast as well as a nametag. Arms behind him, he circled the young blonde woman who had shown up with her cell phone, claiming to have seen aliens.

"Super natural strength, you say?" he repeated dully. It was clear he wasn't completely interested in the subject. Mainly due to his disbelief.

"Yes!" Marron groaned, completely annoyed. "Why don't I just show you rather than explain. I'm sure you'll get the idea once you've seen it."

The man stopped and glared down. "Alright. But, if this is some prank, you'll be sleeping in prison tonight."

Marron smirked, not at all worried. She pressed some buttons on her phone then flipped the screen to where the General could see it clearly. Her finger pressed play.

Trunks' voice came in. He was preparing to spar on his own. He took off his shirt and Marron heard herself giggle into the phone while watching. She tried to contain her blush when the General looked annoyed. But his expression changed when Trunks turned Super Saiyan. The man's jaw dropped as he witnessed the ki balls and flying.

"Who is this!?" The man barked at her.

"I believe you know him," Marron stated cunningly. "Trunks Briefs of Capsule Corporation."

"The President?" The General stepped back to examine her face. It couldn't be…

"The President," she confirmed, "as well as his whole family including a woman by the name of Pan Son."

* * *

**Author's Note: Hopefully this was a bit longer than the last chapter. I stopped it here because all the events that are in the next chapter would have been too long for this one. Thank you guys very much for your reviews, and most especially lovesanime92 for contacting me about this chapter. Here it is, and I hope you guys enjoyed it. **

**Remember, if there are any confusion or questions; please feel free to contact me. I will answer them the best I can.**

**REVIEW RESPONSE:**

**Shaneka: **Can you make the chapters longer, more than to wait for another chapter?

**Answer: **My chapters aren't based upon length. I write as much as I need to cover the topic I want to cover. A lot of the events sort of run in together thus I am forced to post it as it is. If I were to write longer chapters, then the content would seem a bit rushed. So to sum it up, each chapter is a scene and of course all scenes (like in movies) are separate. I hope I made sense. If not then let me know. But thank you soooo much for your review :) Hope to hear from you again!!


	13. Reunion

Chapter Thirteen: Reunion

"_The great gift of family life is to be intimately acquainted with people you might never even introduce yourself to, had life not done it for you." _

_- Kendall Hailey_

* * *

Pan's heart was racing. It was practically _pounding_ in her chest, ready to burst. Was it because of her fear of heights? Was it because of her new knowledge of Trunks, or the fact that she was about to see her parents in about five seconds and counting? She was pretty sure it was the latter. Of course a normal person would have been more concerned that their boyfriend was half alien, but for some reason that was the least of her worries. In fact, it set ease in her mind because she finally knew the truth. All the assuming she had done practically tore her insides because she had no clue as to what Trunks was hiding from her. She hated to admit it, but the distrust that she had successfully beaten down was making a visit in her mind once again. Thus, she found herself depressed at home when she had time to think.

So she was glad it wasn't anything serious. Er, at least in her opinion. She wondered what Trunks would say to that? Probably something along the lines of _'what do you mean it's not serious! I'm an alien! How much serious can it get?!_'

Trunks turned to look at her. He must have noticed her shakiness because his eyebrows knitted together in concern.

"Pan," he questioned softly, "are you ok? You're looking really pale right now. Was it the flight?"

Pan shook her head; shaking her worries away, "No, I'm fine. I'm just a bit nervous, that's all."

Trunks gave her a once over before believing it. He wasn't sure but he hoped he hadn't scared her. Maybe this _was_ too much… She probably couldn't handle his foreignness and is silently going through shock.

"Are you sure?" he asked again. He hated to think that he was making her suffer.

Pan noticed his uncertainty and glared, "I'm not freaked out, if that's what you're wondering."

He laughed, his facial expression relaxing slightly. "Didn't even cross my mind," he grinned. Such a liar, he chided himself on the inside.

"Whatever," she huffed.

Apparently she knew that as well.

Grabbing her hand, he pushed her in front of him so that she was facing the door. Pan scowled at him, "What are you doing?"

Trunks shrugged innocently, "I figured it'd be best if _you_ knocked on your own parents' door, rather than me."

She knew he was right but wanted to scowl anyway _because_ he was right. He obviously didn't see how nerve wrecking this was. Hell, she wouldn't even be here if it weren't for him.

Trunks sighed, "Pan, c'mon."

She didn't move. She couldn't.

"We're going to freeze out here," he stopped and smirked, "Well _you_ will freeze and _I _will be forced to heat you up with my body."

Pan blushed, wondering if he meant that to be suggestive. She shook her head and focused on the task at hand. Knocking. How stupid that she couldn't do so. What's the worst that could happen? Before Pan could think of any pro's or con's, Trunks grabbed her wrist and 'aided' her hand up to the door.

She tried pulling back, but he was too strong, but he sensed her restrain and stopped before they actually did knock. He gave her a stern look that said he wasn't going to stop the next time if she didn't take over soon. Pan rolled her eyes and mouthed 'okay'.

Biting her lip she slowly brought up her fist and knocked twice.

The door opened and a woman appeared. Trunks immediately recognized the similarity between Pan and this woman, quickly guessing that it was her mother.

She was a petite sized woman with brilliantly blue eyes and onyx colored hair. She wore a casual outfit, and Trunks figured it was her day off or something. The woman studied Pan for a split second before scooping her into her arms.

"Panny!" she sobbed, "My baby. You've come home!"

Trunks took a few steps back so that the two women could easily hug each other. The reunion was intense, both ladies squeezing each other as tears streamed down. Trunks felt a great wave of ease wash over him as he watched Pan reunite with her mother. He was glad he could do something for her. After all, she was making the biggest sacrifice of her life just by being with him. It was the least he could do.

"I've missed you so much, mom," Pan sobbed quietly as she pulled away.

The woman sniffled, wiping the tears under her eyes as she smiled at Pan.

"I've missed you too baby," she wept, pulling her into another hug.

After what seemed like two whole minutes, the woman finally noticed Trunks' presence. Her questioning eyes turned to Pan who smiled at her.

"Mom, this is Trunks Briefs, my boyfriend. Trunks, meet my mom – Videl Son."

Trunks bowed in respect, shaking Videl's outstretched hand. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you Mrs. Son. Your daughter has spoken greatly about you."

Pan thanked him silently in her mind for making it seem like all she did was talk about her mother. It was true that she loved her mother, obviously. But she had just mentioned her a couple of hours ago. Trunks was amazing.

"It's an honor to meet you Trunks," Videl replied in return. "Meeting the President of Capsule Corp. is a great privilege."

Trunks blushed and shook his head, "No honor ma'am. I just run the business, that's all."

"And he's modest!" Videl grinned knowingly. "Come inside, kids."

They stepped in to the warm little house. The smell of coffee was brewing at every corner of the place, bringing memories to Pan. It had been too long.

"Where's dad?" Pan asked as she and Trunks seated themselves in the living room.

"Upstairs, studying. Being a scholar I would think he would know all the information by now but I guess not." Videl laughed. "Make yourself at home, Trunks dear, I'll be right back."

Pan and Trunks watched Videl ascend up the stairs until they couldn't see her any more. Trunks turned to Pan and gently rubbed her leg.

"Your mom is a wonderful woman," he complimented her.

Pan could only nod. She knew that if she said something now, all the waterworks would start. And going by experience, she knew Trunks would go to high lengths to make sure she didn't shed another tear. So in order to spare him the quest, she bit her lip tightly and did her best to smile.

"Wow," Trunks said suddenly, "You sure were a cute baby, Pan."

Pan blushed as Trunks continued to look around the living room. Every wall had a picture of her somewhere along with her father's degrees and awards. There were pictures of her mother as a cop. One particular picture caught Trunks' interest.

"You did martial arts?" he asked curiously studying the picture of Pan and her mother. It looked like they were sparring. He knew she did a little bit of fighting but never knew that she actually did martial arts. This was a refreshing fact he stored in his mind for later.

"Yes she did," came a deep voice from upstairs. There stood Pan's father. He was a very built man – a complete opposite of what Trunks expected. His glasses rode on the bridge of his nose. Face wise, he looked like a scholar. Body wise, he looked like a bodybuilder. It was very interesting.

Trunks stood up in respect of the older man and shook his hand firmly. "It's great to meet you Mr. Son." Trunks said firmly.

"Likewise," Gohan nodded. "It's not everyday I have the President of Capsule Corp. knock on my door."

Trunks once again blushed. It was obvious Pan's parents' valued high-class, educated people. Despite the sudden burden of expectation, he knew it was normal. They wanted her with someone successful, which he could understand completely. He'd probably do the same if it were his daughter. But he did hope they would approve of him for their daughter. Hopefully.

"Daddy," Pan breathed, her head whipping in his direction. She jumped into his arms and hugged him as tight as she could. Her crying became obvious as she sniffled and hiccupped against her father's chest. Gohan rubbed her back gently, his own tears threatening to spill.

"Shh, it's ok Pan," he comforted. "It's better now."

"I'm s-so so-rry," she sobbed violently. "I ne-ver m-meant to hurt y-ou guys w-with my selfi-sh-n-ness."

"Its ok baby, it's ok." Gohan said again.

Pan looked up, disbelievingly. "H-how can y-you say th-at! I r-ran from you guys when y-ou only th-ought the best for me! How can you be so forgiving? Y-you and Mom!" her sobs chopped her speech but Trunks could see just how much guilt she carried. It was incredible that she held it in for so long. Who knows, maybe if he tried to forget something for about a year, maybe he'd turn numb from it too. Until he had to face it again, that is.

"Because Pan," this time Videl spoke. "Our love for you is endless. How can you expect me or your father to forget you or even be mad at you? You're my baby Panny, and even if you grow up you'll still be the little girl I gave life to. Nothing will change that, beautiful. You're far too precious to us."

Pan sniffed, wiping away at the oncoming tears. She laughed a spiteful laugh, glancing at her mother. "I guess I'll never know that kind of love until I have a child of my own, huh?"

Videl smirked, glancing at Trunks. "Yes indeed, Panny."

Trunks blushed. Earlier, he felt he was intruding in their moment but now that he was brought into the subject, it felt even more awkward. Babies plus parents equaled massive embarrassment. He learned that from his mother.

--

Later on that day, Trunks and Pan sat with Pan's parents. Videl insisted on them staying and having dinner. Trunks agreed immediately at the mention of food so Pan couldn't do anything but comply.

As they sat around the table, Gohan finally began to ask Trunks some questions. Like a normal father would.

"So Trunks, tell me a little about yourself," Gohan encouraged while taking a sip of water. "I only know from what I hear on the news and of course that's never enough to actually know a person."

Trunks swallowed the food in his mouth before answering, "Uh – my mother is Bulma Briefs and my father is Vegeta Briefs. I have a younger sister, about the same age as Pan. I have a Master's in business. Just the same old stuff, basically."

"Wow, a Master's huh? You seem a bit young to have a Master's Degree already." Gohan commented thoughtfully.

Trunks tried to swallow again but he couldn't. Being part Saiyan meant he didn't age like everybody else. He hoped it wasn't that obvious. People looked young all the time, didn't they?

Pan sensed his discomfort and immediately stepped in.

"He eats healthy and works out on a regular basis, daddy," she said while winking at Trunks. "So it's a wonder he doesn't look younger than he does."

Gohan nodded, interested. "I hear you're into martial arts."

"Yes sir. It's almost my entire life if it weren't for Capsule Corporation. It's like a haven for me. It helps ease the stress from work." That was more than the truth. Training was like second-nature to him but of course Pan's parents didn't know that. He doubted they'd understand his thirst to fight so he edited that out. Trunks didn't want them thinking he's so obsessed with fighting that he could possibly harm Pan one day.

"That's amazing," Videl spoke for the first time. "Gohan and I train all the time. Pan over there used to spar with us. She had that talent for martial arts. It's a family thing, so we can definitely understand your love of the art."

Trunks smiled

They continued talking for the rest of the night. Trunks found out about Pan's embarrassing moments when she was a kid – of course it was embarrassing for her but Trunks insisted that it was adorable – and he also found out that Gohan used to work for Capsule Corp. in the Department of Technology. He quit his job when the drive from the city to the mountains became costly. Trunks wondered why he never exactly paid attention but he figured he saw Gohan as any other employee and didn't see anything eye-catching in the man. And he meant that in a non-gay way.

"I think we should leave now," Pan said while helping her mother finish cleaning up the kitchen. "Trunks has to wake up early tomorrow for work."

"Do you – uh – live with him, Panny?" Gohan asked. He was most definitely uncomfortable about that idea.

Trunks intervened before Pan could say anything, "No sir. But since Pan lives in the city like I do, it'd be easier for us to go together so that you wouldn't have to make the trip back."

Gohan nodded and smiled at his daughter. "Alright then, I'll walk you two kids to the door."

Pan hugged her mom fiercely, kissing her on the cheek. "I'll be back again mommy," she said like a child. "I missed my home."

Videl smiled back at the younger version of herself and nodded. "I'll always be waiting, sweetie." She turned to Trunks who was waiting for a chance to say goodbye as well. He debated on whether to shake her hand or bow but Videl pulled him into a motherly hug and grinned up at him. "Thank you Trunks, for bringing my daughter back to me. You are always welcome in our home. Just give us a call if you need anything."

The corner of his lips turned upward as he bowed in respect. "Thank you very much Mrs. Son. I'll keep that in mind."

They said their final goodbyes and walked outside. Gohan hugged Pan and shook hands with Trunks.

"I'm glad Panny found a stable man such as yourself, Trunks. That's all a father could ask for his daughter."

"Thank you sir," Trunks bowed once more. "It's an honor to meet you and your wife. I would like to personally thank you for bringing Pan into this life and into mine. I feel highly blessed."

Gohan laughed warmly and clapped a hand on the younger man's back. But then something struck him.

"How did you kids get here?" he asked when he noticed there wasn't a car outside the house.

Trunks tried not to pale as he realized their folly. Of course there was no car, they _flew_ here, but they didn't know that. Wow, what poor planning on his part.

"We flew here," Pan said. Trunks' jaw slackened. Did she know what was she was saying?

"But you're afraid of heights, Pan." Gohan said confusedly.

Pan blushed. Trunks still didn't understand why Gohan wasn't suspicious.

"Well the jet was pretty fast so I didn't have enough time to register that I'm in the air. Plus, Trunks was flying a little lower for my sake," she shrugged nonchalantly.

Trunks stared at his girlfriend in amazement. He had to remember to compliment her on her quick thinking. It seemed that she was doing more of that than him. Maybe he was losing his touch.

Pan grabbed Trunks' hand and turned back to her father. "We're going to go to a clearing so that Trunks has enough room for the jet."

"Alright, you kids be careful. Come back and visit Pan! You too Trunks!"

On the walk to a clearing in the forest, Trunks' cell phone rang.

"Hello, Trunks Briefs speaking." He answered in a formal tone while guiding Pan through the forest. The person on the line sounded edgy.

"I'm with Pan. We just met with her parents." He said to the phone.

Pan couldn't hear what the person was saying.

She saw Trunks roll his eyes, "Mom, I'm twenty-nine years old. It's not like I have a curfew."

"What do you mean, I'm not understanding?"

Trunks paused. "Mom, are you okay?"

Pan bit her lip, fearing the worst. Did something happen to Bulma?

"WHAT! HOW!?" Trunks yelled as he sped up his pace. "HOW DID THEY FIND OUT!"

He paused to listen to the reply. It apparently angered him even more.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW? HOW THE HELL DOES THE JAPANESE DEFENSE ARMY JUST FIND OUT ABOUT US?"

Pan gasped in horror. They found out about Trunks and his family. Their secret! Even though she didn't know the entire situation, she knew that with the government knowing about Trunks' abilities, they'd put him under tests. Who would do such a thing? Who would go through the lengths to harm them? More importantly, who all actually _knew _about Trunks' secret?

"Mom, calm down. I'm going to take Pan to her house and meet you at Capsule Corporation."

Pan looked at him, "No, Trunks. That's the first place they'll look. They'll find you! Nobody knows about me, have them come to my place. You guys will be safe there." She pleaded.

"Hang on mom," he said before turning to Pan. "I can't Pan. You'll be in danger if we come there. I can't put you in harms way. I'll kill myself if anything happened to you."

Pan's eyes narrowed, "Don't you think I would feel the same if you got hurt! Just listen to me and have your parents and sister come to my house. Please Trunks," she pleaded anxiously. "I want to help," it ended with a whisper.

Trunks studied her face. It was tearing him up inside at the thought of putting Pan in danger. He didn't know what he would do if the army caught wind of her. Right now her anonymous state was the best thing. But his family was important as well. And he knew Pan was right. The first place the army would be looking is Capsule Corporation. He thought about his house but was suddenly discouraged. His place was high profile, which meant it'd be raided as well. He sighed.

"Please," Pan begged, tugging on his arm.

He sighed, "Hello mom?" he switched back to the receiver. "Change of plan. Tell dad to take you guys to Pan's house. We'll meet you there."

* * *

**Author's Note: Yes indeed things are picking up speed. I'm not too happy about this chapter. I feel like I could have added more to it, but I also wanted to post this as soon I was finished with it. I did a little editing, nothing major so excuse the typo's and incorrect grammar and most definitely excuse the CORNINESS! I'm trying to speed up the process so I can get these chapters out on time. Hope you enjoyed and thank you once again for reviewing. I TRULY LOVE YOU GUYS!**

**P.S. – I'm incredibly hooked on Piccolo is Green's fanfic **_**The Things We Left Behind**_**. It's absolutely amazing and a recommended read for those who would like a good story. **

**Piccolo is Green – UPDATE YOUR STORY!!! **

**Hahah. But yeah, thank you guys again. If you guys have any good TP fics to recommend, I'm all ears. Especially if it's yours. :) **

**Review :D **


	14. Against Nature

Chapter Fourteen: Against Nature

_Listen to the Exhortation of the Dawn!  
Look to this Day!   
For it is Life, the very Life of Life.   
In its brief course lie all the Verities and Realities of your Existence.   
The Bliss of Growth, The Glory of Action,   
The Splendor of Beauty;   
For Yesterday is but a Dream,   
And To-morrow is only a Vision;   
But To-day well lived makes    
Every Yesterday a Dream of Happiness,   
And every Tomorrow a Vision of Hope.   
Look well therefore to this Day!   
Such is the Salutation of the Dawn!_

_- Kalidasa_

* * *

Pan's world was spinning in three-sixties. Of course it was probably nothing compared to what Trunks may be feeling, but it didn't stop her from getting some of the whiplash. She may be judging it wrong, though. After all, they were once again several miles off the ground flying at a speed that left her breathing in and out from Trunks' neck since the force of the winds were too strong for her to be comfortable in. That may be a problem in her spinning life but she mused that it had very little affect on her compared to the situation at hand. So as nausea began to grab at her throat, Pan tried to swallow it down and close her eyes – burying herself into Trunks' body to stop everything from turning and twisting. It seemed like she couldn't control anything in her life anymore.

"I'm sorry," Trunks finally said after several minutes of silence. "I never should have brought you into this mess. How selfish of me… how _stupid_ of me."

"Shut up," Pan groaned. It was the only thing she could muster out without wanting to vomit. Her retorts would have to wait until they stopped shooting across the sky. It was the safest, less _embarrassing_ way to talk to him.

Trunks gently landed them at a nearby forest, a couple of yards away from her home. Pan stumbled out of his arms and collapsed onto the ground, holding her head between her hands and knees, hunched over. Her eyes were shut tightly as she tried to regain correct breathing.

Trunks could only stand and watch, realizing just how much damage he'd already caused. Finally, something snapped inside him and he bent down, rubbing her back softly.

"I'm fine," she breathed. "I'm fine."

Trunks brought her to his chest and hugged her as tight as he would allow himself without crushing her. Laying his head on top of hers, he silently wished that everything would just disappear. Everything except for the two of them.

"I'm sorry," he said again. It was all he could do right now.

"You shouldn't apologize for something that isn't your fault."

"Don't you see, Pan? It _is_ my fault. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be in this mess!"

"If it weren't for you, I'd be completely lost without anyone caring what happened to me. I wouldn't have parents without you." Pan snapped back at his negativity.

"You're giving me too much credit where I definitely don't deserve," Trunks sighed, running a hand through his windblown hair.

"You're not giving yourself enough credit," she quoted him. "Talk to me when you have something positive to say." With that, Pan stood up hastily from her position and began walking toward her neighborhood.

Pan expected him to catch up to her but it didn't happen. She tried to peek behind her without making it obvious, just to see if he was walking at least. He wasn't. She sighed and stopped, turning her full body so that she was facing him.

"Trunks, you were brought to this life with a purpose. Either you know that purpose now or you don't, I don't know. What I _do_ know is that this isn't your fault. You can't help who you are and I think it's time your realized this."

"So easy to say when you have no clue as to what I'm capable of," Trunks bitterly laughed. He slowly walked over to her side, staring at the streetlight that was visible from his stance. "My race prided themselves in war. They thirsted for blood and laughed at someone's misery. My race didn't care about anyone or anything. Monsters. That's what we are and humans have that natural instinct to fear those they sense stronger then them."

"Would you kill anyone?" Pan inquired.

Trunks stood still for a moment and let the question sink in. Would he? It was just natural for him to protect those weaker than himself but it was all encoded in his mind. Deep down, _would_ he kill someone?

"Yes." He whispered softly, afraid of her reaction.

Pan mood dropped sensationally at the answer. This wasn't the Trunks she knew. Was it?

"I would kill anyone who even attempted to harm you," Trunks finished, looking down at the leaf covered forest floor.

"No one is going to harm me," Pan scoffed. "I don't possess anything important or dangerous so why would anyone harm me?"

"Uub did," Trunks pointed out blankly.

Pan frowned, not liking where her question was leading.

"That's different."

"No, it isn't. You still hurt, didn't you?" he snapped angrily.

Pan's lips thinned in a line, "Does it matter? It's in the past. What does _Uub_ have anything to do with what I was asking?"

"It has _everything_ to do with Uub. I just told you that I'd kill anyone who attempted to harm you, and I meant that. He got lucky thus far."

Pan's eyes widened in realization, "You tried to kill him…"

"Keyword is _tried._ The day you were bombarded by the paparazzi when going to pay my bill, I was out tracking him. He wasn't far, so it was easy to find him.

_Trunks peered down at the crowd over his height. His woolen coat covered his face and hair so that people wouldn't recognize him. He was pretty sure the press was following Pan around ever since they were spotted together. He only had a few minutes to make a clean kill and disappear before Pan made it back to his office before he did. _

_He looked around, searching for a familiar Mohawk. Trunks used his senses to search for his ki. After several seconds, he finally pinpointed his location. Making his way through the crowd, he neared the man. His target. His prey, he thought as the animalistic side of him reared its ugly head. _

_He was close. So close. But then he froze. He had disappeared into a crowd of jittery people. His eyes scrutinized the area, searching. There he was again. Talking to a woman. As he stepped closer, he recognized the secretary. He scoffed as they both laughed. This was good. He could kill two birds with one stone. So much easier. _

_Closer and closer, he was almost there until someone pointed at him, then all the attention was directed toward him. He growled as a little girl asked her mother whether he was a thief. This caught everyone's attention. Including Uub. _

_He bent his head down even more, so that the only thing visible was the peak of his nose. Everything else was hidden under the shadow of the hood of his coat. Trunks couldn't get to him with everyone around. But his animalistic, Sayain side wanted very much to rip the man in half, limb by limb, with everyone watching._

_These were dangerous thoughts. Thoughts he wasn't used to. He tried to control them while walking into the forest. Away from people and away from his prey._

"Why would you do something like that!" Pan snapped at him fiercely.

Trunks' eyes shot open in surprise, "Do you have any idea how protective I am of you?" He questioned.

"Probably not," she agreed, "but that doesn't give you the right to go out hunting people just because they hurt me. It's ridiculous that you even _obligated_ yourself into thinking those people should die. You're a businessman, Trunks! Think rationally!"

"I'm a _Saiyan_, Pan! It's what I am."

"A murderer?"

He didn't reply.

"Do you really want people to think of you that way?" Pan asked silently.

"I don't care what people think," Trunks sneered.

"Then what about your family?"

His hardened expression softened instantly. He hadn't thought of that. Everything was such a mess you just didn't care about what went around. It couldn't be any worse then being discovered. What else was there to hide? What else did he have to show that could prove to everyone that he was the good guy? Nothing. There won't be anything that could bury the knowledge of aliens inhabiting Earth, much less Japan's biggest corporation. But did he want his mothers heart to break knowing she nursed a murderer rather than a successful businessman? Did he want his father to look down at him in shame for letting issues get the best of him? Did he want his sister to look up to him and only see the boy who gave up too soon? And most of all, did he want Pan, the love of his life, fear him for the rest of _her _life?

"I'm sorry." He finally muttered, letting his shoulders sink. "I was weak and still am. Even though I can't promise I won't go after anyone, I _do _promise that I'll always remember to be the better person in the situation for your sake."

"That's paradoxical but I guess I can agree to that." Pan reached for his hand, gripping it. "Let's get going."

They neared Pan's Victorian home. The streetlights shimmered off the windows and the dew covered grass. Its peaceful look was sadly on the outside. Just like a person hiding himself from the world with a familiar mask on their faces, smiling in a natural, familiar way. Familiar, familiar, familiar. Something Trunks lacked.

Pan rummaged through her purse for her keys. Trunks took a quick look around and watched as Pan's hand disappeared. He was becoming edgy. They needed to get inside before someone spotted them. He glanced at the doorknob. His eyes shot wide open. The metal was crushed in, leaving finger marks on the gold colored handle. Now that he paid attention, Trunks noticed little screws on the ground and the splinters at the edges of the door where it seemed like it was forced open.

"No need to find your keys," he murmured to Pan. "My dad broke in."

Pan's mouth dropped as Trunks pointed to the doorknob.

"Sorry," he whispered.

Pan could only nod dumbly as Trunks opened the door carefully.

"About time boy," came a gruff voice from the middle of the living room when the door was shut.

"Sorry, dad. I was trying to be careful."

Even though Pan couldn't see it, she pictured Trunks rolling his eyes.

"Whatever."

"Pan, sweetie," came Bulma's voice. "Do you have an attic or a basement?"

"Attic is in the garage."

They all shuffled to the garage.

Pan wouldn't have been able to differentiate between Bulma, Trunks, Bulla, or Vegeta, if it weren't for their unusual hair. Bulma's and Bulla's stuck out the most due to their color. Trunks' was bright as well but not so much. As for Vegeta, well she could see the illumination of his tall spiky hair from the little cracks in the garage door.

Suddenly, she was lifted up into the dark room. Pan's mind took only a few seconds before registering Trunks' touch.

"I could've done it myself, ya know," she scolded him.

He pulled her to his chest and breathed in, "Well it's a reason to hold you."

They sat down in a circle in the tiny attic. The floors and walls were covered in dust. Pan repressed a blush at the untidy state of her attic. After all, it was the _least_ of everyone's worries.

"Woman, can't you do something about this echo?" Vegeta questioned roughly. Their voices carried everywhere into the house.

"Give me a minute," Bulma snapped while digging into her purse. She brought out a silver rectangular contraption. Lights beeped on its side when touched. She pressed two of the lights that beeped the greatest and suddenly the room was enveloped inside a bluish bubble.

"It's designed to keep noise inside," Trunks explained to Pan's confusion. "It's like a sound proof room but rather than having a walls, we have a gooey substance surrounding us."

Pan was speechless.

"Dad why don't you and Trunks give us some lighting. I can't see the tip of my nose." This time it was Bulla who spoke.

"Er… I don't know about that," Trunks started off nervously.

"Shut up brat. The girl's not going to die, just pass out from your lack of forewarning." Vegeta smirked, giving a devious chuckle.

"Thanks dad," Trunks muttered as his heart pounded into his chest.

Both Vegeta and Trunks held out their hands and immediately a little ball of fire appeared.

"What –" Pan didn't even know how to ask what they had in their hands.

"I'll explain in due time," Trunks murmured to her.

"If we're done," Vegeta interrupted, "Let's get to the issue here. Has anyone slipped up?"

Everyone shook his or her heads.

"So how the hell do they catch wind of this after so many years of secrecy?" Bulma demanded.

"It's obviously someone who had some kind of proof. No one would believe it if they didn't have something to justify it." Trunks theorized.

They sat in silence until Bulla spoke up, "I wouldn't be surprised if it was Marron."

"Bulla!" Bulma scolded.

Bulla only shrugged, "Just saying. The chick is obsessive."

"Where are you guys going to stay?" Pan asked suddenly.

There was silence again. It was true. Where were they going to stay now that their homes were invaded? Certainly not at Capsule Corp. and definitely not Trunks' home.

"Perhaps Krillin and Eighteen will make room for us for a little while until we can fix things," Bulma offered after a thought.

Pan looked down as she paled considerably. She didn't want to appear jealous but the thought of Trunks in the same house as Marron burned her. But it wasn't right of her to be feeling this way. They needed to hide. But a tiny voice in the back of her mind wondered childishly, why not here? The rational part of her said look around. They were in a bubble and without it, they would be discovered.

Pan sighed silently. There was nothing she could do.

"Perhaps Krillin and Eighteen will make room for us for a little while until we can fix things," Bulma offered after a thought.

Pan looked down as she paled considerably. She didn't want to appear jealous but the thought of Trunks in the same house as Marron burned her. But it wasn't right of her to be feeling this way. They needed to hide. But a tiny voice in the back of her mind wondered childishly, why not here? The rational part of her said look around. They were in a bubble and without it, they would be discovered.

Pan sighed silently. There was nothing she could do.

"What!" Trunks asked incredulously. "You expect me to _stay_ at Krillin's house!"

"Now Trunks, I know you and Marron aren't on the best of terms but you need to push that aside for right now."

"I think the brat should stay with the girl," Vegeta interrupted. "It'll save a lot of damage." He eyed Pan, sensing her discomfort with the idea.

"I vote yes to that," Trunks agreed. "I'd rather be here making sure Pan is safe."

"Pan _is_ safe, son," Bulma pleaded. She rubbed her temples as a headache came on. "It's _you_ whose not. Don't listen to your father. He doesn't know what he's talking about."

"I don't? Listen woman, you take the brat away from the girl and _he'll_ be a wreck wondering whether or not she's unharmed. I don't know about you but I'd rather not hear his whining. Besides, he's a Saiyan Prince. If he can't protect himself against these pathetic human then he deserves to die."

"Vegeta, shut up! I'm not letting my baby stay here in harms way!"

"Woman, don't talk back to me! The brat's staying here or I'll kill him myself!" Vegeta threatened.

Bulma looked as if she was going to say something but then noticed her husband motioning toward the couple. Pan had a distant look on her face while Trunks unconsciously rubbed the sides of her arm. They looked very much worried but not about the situation, but with each other. Whether or not the other will get through this safely.

"Ok, you win." Bulma sighed.

Trunks mouthed a 'thank you' to his father and returned back to comforting Pan.

"Well, now that's settled, let's get the hell out of here," Vegeta stood up and stretched.

After making sure the coast was clear, Vegeta took off with Bulla and Bulma, leaving Trunks and Pan by themselves. Bulma had left the bubble device to them just in case and advised them to never stop using it.

"I'm sorry," Pan said suddenly. She was laying her head on his chest as they both lay down on the hardwood floor of the attic. Trunks had one arm propped up with a ki ball in hand to light the room.

"What are you sorry for? It should be me apologizing. I'm the one who's the alien, not you."

"I meant for causing all that trouble. Your mom is probably worried sick about you right now. You should have gone with them." She traced patterns on his chest as he pulled her closer.

"Don't be silly. My dad was right. If I had left with them, then I'd probably go on a rampage because I would constantly fear something wrong would happen to you. My mom may be worried, Pan, but that's nothing compared to how I would feel if something were to happen to _you_."

"I wish there was something I could do to help."

Trunks looked down at the woman on top of him. He lifted her chin so that she was now facing him and replied softly, "If it were within my power, I would have prevented you from even being in this situation. You mean too much to me and the mere _thought_ of losing you drives me to insanity. So if you want to help, Panny, just keep me occupied."

He lifted her up, closer to his face and gently pressed his lips to her chin then inching to her mouth. His hands slid down and griped the ends of her shirt. And that was all either could remember before they melted into each other's souls.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Ok, I know apologizing won't help the fact that I updated this chapter WAY late... BUT, I wanted you guys to know that I rewrote this chapter about 5 times, desperately trying to make everything fit and smoothen it out. Hopefully, it satisfies. I'm currently working on the next chapter to this so the update WILL NOT take a month to post... hopefully.

As usual thank you guys for sticking with this story. Hopefully I haven't lost you guys. Please stay tuned for the next chapter.

:)


	15. Caught

**Important! Trunks will be explaining the Saiyan culture and how his father ended up on Earth. Please keep in mind that it's completely different from the original idea because Goku is not a Saiyan in my story. So to prevent any confusion, don't think too much on the history. Just go with it :)**

* * *

Chapter 15: Caught

_Every time we choose safety, we reinforce fear._

- _Cheri Huber_

* * *

All was still except for the slight breeze outside. No birds were chirping, no neighbors talking, nothing. Everything was silent. Inside a cozy Victorian house, Trunks was sleeping peacefully in the attic unaware of someone missing. That is, until he made a reach for a warm body that was supposed to be near his.

Trunks' eyes shot open in sudden fear. His body snapped up straight, searching for Pan. Nowhere in sight.

Did someone find them and take her? No, couldn't be. He stretched out his senses to pinpoint her location and found it in the house. He listened closely. The shower was running. He breathed a sigh of relief as he stood up. Dusting himself off, he grabbed his mother's invention and levitated down into the garage where he made his way to the source of the noise.

Coming to a stop at the door, he knocked.

The shower stopped, "Yes?"

"I almost passed out when I found that you weren't with me," Trunks complained.

"Oh," Pan laughed trying to picture him actually fainting, "I'm sorry but I'm too sticky. I had to shower."

"Let me in," Trunks rapped on the door, "I'm sticky too!"

"Hurry up! Water's getting cold!"

Trunks couldn't help but grin as he marched into the steamy room, closing the door behind him.

After their shower, the couple crept into the kitchen to make themselves something quick to eat. Pan was okay with the little food they could make for themselves without having to use the oven or microwave. However, Trunks' stomach protested wildly at the lack of food he had. He cursed his Saiyan side as the last bit of sandwich Pan made flopped down to his stomach.

"We should check on your parents," Pan whispered as they made their way back to the attic.

"They'll be fine," Trunks amended, "No one can get past my dad. Even for his size."

Pan giggled at the obvious height difference between father and son.

"Where'd you get your tall genes from?"

"Probably my grandfather on my dad's side," Trunks grinned.

"So," Pan said after a few moments, "planning on telling me about your father's heritage?"

Trunks contemplated her face before nodding. He beckoned her to sit near him but rather than taking a place next to him, Trunks pulled her onto his lap. Hugging her around the waist he brought her close to him, nuzzling in the crook of her neck. She laid her head back as far as she could until she was staring at the wooden ceiling. Their legs were tangled together, each playing with the other's fingers. Though it wasn't the most comfortable position in the world, both were content.

"Well," Trunks started, "We come from a race called Saiyans. Saiyans were once the strongest beings in the universe. We plundered many planets and put them under our rule. At one point in time, we seemed invincible. That is, until an alien named Frieza showed up. This was during the time my father was an infant, barely at the age of two."

Thus Trunks explained to her everything about Saiyans. The Oozaru transformation, the eating habits, the energy blasts, planet Vegeta exploding, his father's journey on a space ship to avoid perishing with everyone else. Everything was brought out in the open, something Trunks never thought he'd ever do in his lifetime.

Pan sat still in her position. She didn't know what she was expecting from Trunks, but it sure as hell wasn't what he told her. It was simply mesmerizing. The tale was practically something out of a book an author imagined on a rainy day. It didn't seem real, nor did it seem possible. But looking at it, there was no mistake about it. Everything was real with a living proof in front of her.

This brought a problem. If the Japan Defense Army knew about an alien race, did they know about their past? The ruthlessness that they once followed in? Did they know Trunks would have been Prince to the Saiyan race if it hadn't blown up? Did they know about their powers?

"Whoever informed the army must have been around you guys when no one else was present," Pan said thoughtfully. Even though it was said before she couldn't help but repeat it because something wasn't clicking. Actually, it did click but she felt it wasn't her place to accuse someone. Especially if they happened to be a family friend of the Briefs. But she couldn't help but wonder, would Marron go through drastic measures just to keep them apart? It seemed silly. Getting Trunks in trouble was definitely not the way to win his heart.

If Marron truly loved Trunks as much as she says, why harm him in the worst possible way? This was too much.

"There are a couple of maids that stick around the area to finish cleaning. Maybe it's one of them. But I can't be too sure," Trunks sighed.

Pan shifted around on his lap until she was snuggled up against his side. She breathed in his scent and squeezed him lightly.

"I'm sorry," she whispered softly.

He frowned and looked down at her, "What exactly are you sorry for?"

"All of this happened because you and I got together," she said softly, not exactly mentioning her thoughts on Marron. Maybe he'd get the hint.

He didn't. "And your point?" he asked her quizzically.

She didn't reply.

He sighed again.

"Are you assuming it's one of the fan girls out there trying to get revenge on the lucky lady that stole my heart?"

That didn't help her mood even though it was flattering.

"Maybe they were spying on you," she sighed. "When they saw your ability they didn't want to say anything immediately. But when you got into a relationship, well what better way to stop it then this? Of course I don't know if they were expecting this much momentum." She was blabbing. Everything she said referred to Marron, and she saw his realization.

"Are you referring to fan girls or a girl in particular?"

Before she could reply, Trunks' phone vibrated in his pocket.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Trunks," came the feminine voice. "They can't find Marron. Get here quickly."

"But mom!"

"It's only for a second. You can go back to Pan's house after we solved her disappearance. The army may have gotten her Trunks. They're family to us."

Trunks growled, "Fine."

He shut the phone off and turned to the raven-haired woman next to him.

"Marron's missing," he said. "They're trying to figure out where she may have gone without actually going and searching for her. I promise I'll be back. It's safer if you didn't make that journey with me. Kami's house is too far away and if any of the army sees us they'll surely fire. I don't want you there if a fight breaks out. Especially in the air."

Pan nodded. "Be safe."

"Aren't I always?" he grinned but Pan frowned. "How about we make a deal. _You_ stay safe and I promise I will."

He kissed her forehead then headed downstairs and to the back end of the house. Being sure that the coast was clear, he took off into the woods and finally into the air.

--

Trunks arrived at Kami's house thirty minutes later. He landed on the soft green grass and walked to the door.

Bulma came outside with worry filled eyes.

"We don't know where she is. Krillin said the last time he saw her was when she left for Capsule Corp for a meeting with you."

Trunks grunted at the memory. "She and I got into an argument. But I doubt that's the reason why she disappeared."

"Argument?" Bulma repeated.

"I set some things straight with her concerning Pan and I," he shrugged.

Bulma frowned at him but didn't say anything. They walked into the house and headed toward the living room. Trunks saw Eighteen crying on Krillin's shoulder. He too was distressed from what Trunks could read on his facial expression. But he could tell that Krillin was trying to be strong for the both of them.

"I wouldn't weep over this," came Vegeta's voice from a corner. He had his usual pose against the wall. Arms crossed, back against the wall, one foot resting up. "They're after Saiyans. The girl is half android but looks completely human. She blends in with the idiot humans."

Though that wasn't the most comforting thing being said, it was good enough. Especially since it came from Vegeta.

Vegeta snapped his head toward Trunks, "Brat! Where's the girl?"

Trunks looked bewildered. "Who? Marron? I already told mom I didn't know!"

"No, idiot! I meant your mate! She should be here, not by herself!"

"She's safer at home! I wasn't sure if I was going to run into any planes so I didn't want to take the chance of exposing her."

Vegeta growled, "You moron! The army already knows about her!"

Trunks' eyes widened. He thought he stopped breathing for a while.

"How?" he managed to get out.

Vegeta grabbed his arm and took him into a guest room where Bulla was sitting in front of the T.V., watching anxiously. She noticed her brother's presence and quickly went to hug him.

"I'm sorry, Trunks!" she sobbed into his chest. "I'm sorry!"

"What are you talking about?" Trunks' heartbeat accelerated at an incredible rate. His Saiyan side kicked in - making every internal function in his body double it's normal speed.

"They found her," Bulla whispered, unable to rid the gigantic lump in her throat. "They found Pan."

* * *

**Author's Note: Ack! Finally, to the good stuff! Geez I can't believe I'm writing something that's approaching 20 chapters. Very impressive for me personally. **

**Thank you guys for your lovely reviews and for being patient with my slow updates. I know I said it'd be faster but I'm barely home lately. Anyways, now that things are starting to pick up speed, chapters should be getting a bit longer. **

**Hope you guys enjoyed. Can't wait to hear from you guys!!!**


	16. News

Chapter Sixteen: News

_There is no security on this earth. Only opportunity.  
- Douglas Macarthur

* * *

_

Fear like no other coursed through his body. From his feet to his head, it pumped its way through his veins leaving a shattering feeling in his heart. They found Pan… Three simple words that were going to haunt him for the rest of his miserable life. He was only gone for about forty-five minutes. How did they find her so fast?

"How?" he drew out a shaky breath.

"You're the President of Capsule Corp, idiot!" Vegeta scoffed. "You think your relationship with the girl was low profile? The media has pictures to prove it wasn't just some walk in the park."

"But how do they know she wasn't some girl I'm seeing?" Trunks tried to reason. Maybe if it seems like they weren't serious about each other, they'd let her go.

"This is the first time you've been spotted with someone for years, bro," Bulla spoke up. "I think it grabbed a lot of attention."

Trunks ground his teeth. This was his fault! If he had just brought her with him then they wouldn't be having this problem! And now, the army captured Pan. Who knew what they were doing to her!

His anger increased at an alarming rate. The energy around him stormed up electricity, snapping at everything. The light bulbs above them exploded, the television's screen began to crack, the ground shook but Trunks didn't stop. He couldn't. The anger. It boiled and churned in his stomach. His heart was swimming in fear. They found her! Dammit they found Pan!

His let out an ear-piercing scream, his fists clutched tightly, Trunks' entire body shook with rage. Droplets of blood seeped through his clenched hands. A bright aura surrounded him, engulfing in his anger. Then suddenly it exploded, taking everything in the room with it.

"Brat! Lower your ki this instant!" Vegeta shouted over the trembling and screaming. Everyone in the living room ran in to see what the commotion was.

"Stay back!" Vegeta shouted to them. He covered Bulla as pieces of rocks circulated around the island. "He's letting his anger control his judgment!" He swiftly dodged Trunks and appeared next to Bulma who seemed like she'd pass out from fright.

"Woman! Do you have any tranquilizers on you?" He huffed.

Bulma's eyes narrowed at him. "You are _not_ putting my son to sleep!"

Vegeta growled. He didn't have any time to have an argument with Bulma. He too powered up and fazed behind Trunks. Grabbing him in a lock from behind he squeezed until he heard a grunt.

"Brat! Ease up!" He yelled in his ear. "Ease up!" Vegeta squeezed harder.

He did so, but only by a fraction.

"Why should I?!" He roared. "Let them find me! Let them find me so I can kill them all! Those blood-thirsty, pathetic _hum-ahhhhhh-ns_!"

Vegeta paled at the way he spoke. It was as if someone took his soul and replaced it with a narrow-minded killing machine. His son was supposed to be coolheaded. He was supposed to be like the woman, preferring peace over violence. But this boy… no, this _man_, he breathed as if he was the sole center of evil. A breed of Satan himself.

"Trunks," he growled low. "You may not care if they find you, but what about your mother and sister? You want them in the same situation as Pan?"

That seemed to have hit a nerve. Trunks powered down immediately. There was complete silence. Vegeta slowly let go, but he could still feel the tenseness in Trunks.

Trunks just stood in his place, looking ahead in the distance with a blank look on his face.

_How could I have been so stupid? _He asked himself inwardly. _After promising her safety, I practically pushed her into harms way. All because of Marron! That bitch! As if her disappearance has any effect on me!_

Trunks' lip thinned to a hard line. His eyes narrowed, he swiftly turned around and glared.

"Don't follow me," he threatened. With that, he took off into the air.

"Vegeta!" Bulma shouted but he wasn't listening. "Vegeta! Go after him! He'll get himself killed!"

"Quiet woman!" he ordered. "We can't interfere right now. It's not the right time."

"Right _tiiime?_" she screeched disbelievingly. "He's going to die Vegeta! They're going to get him too!"

"I doubt they'll be able to touch him," Vegeta murmured as he watched Trunks' figure disappear into the horizon.

--

Flying wasn't helping him. No. He needed to go faster but his body wouldn't allow it. It had to be weak. It had to be slow. It wasn't enough. He needed to go faster. They were probably experimenting with her right now. Prying around, trying to find something unusual. Were they that stupid? Or maybe they were that smart. They probably knew he was going to come. Yeah, that's probably it. But did they have any idea what would happen when he showed up?

Trunks smirked as his eyes became void of any emotion. Right now, they were probably meandering around in their labs. They didn't know what was going to hit them. They didn't know how fast he was going to kill them.

--

A specialized doctor in foreign diseases walked around the stretcher Pan was strapped in. He had a thumb rubbing his chin as his brown beady eyes scrutinized the petite woman. Another man stood by a computer studying a couple of documents. Pan figured he was the scientist.

"Any idea on how you can check her for any diseases?" the scientist asked calmly.

"Shouldn't be too hard. Stick a needle in her and draw blood," the other man summed up.

"Do we know she's human?"

Pan gritted her teeth, "Of course I'm human, you idiot! Didn't your lab coat come with a fucking degree!?"

"Silence!" the doctor jerked his hand in front of her face. "You will not disrespect anyone in this facility. Human or not."

Pan's eyes narrowed, "Looks like they get dumber by the second. And here I thought doctors were educated."

Instead of another silence, the doctor's hand came around and smacked her cheek, slightly jerking her head.

"I said, be quiet."

"Doctor Hina, I say we give that needle a try. If this _girl_ is human then the procedure should go smoothly. From what we were informed, these _Saiyans_ have tough skin. So depending on her race, we'll determine what she is."

Pan watched the men agree and bring out a needle from a drawer nearby. Normally, she wouldn't be affected by needles but this one was humongous. The metal part of it was probably four inches max.

She tried to keep her face void of any fear. They'd find out whether she's human or not. Once they do, they were going to hear from her lawyer.

The doctor lifted her arm to where the inner part of her forearm was visible and instantly shoved the pointy object in. Pan bit her lip as the doctor drew out blood.

After what seemed like eternity, he finally stopped.

Pan closed her eyes as a wave of nausea hit her.

"The needle went in fine," Pan mumbled.

"Yes, but we want to make sure you're safe for society," the doctor snapped coyly.

"What happened to you guys? You're no better than your so-called alien."

There was no reply.

Pan couldn't see what they were doing. She was just instantly tired.

_Where are you Trunks?_

--

Trunks could feel that he was closer. He landed in a secluded area where there wasn't anything but a couple of trees and a wired fence around a shady building. It looked run down and Trunks was briefly confused as to why they would be out here and not at the main government office. He floated over the wires and peered around the area. Nothing. But he felt _something_.

Trunks looked around once more before running toward the building. Stretched out his senses until he felt her ki. But it wasn't making any sense. It was coming from under?

"They're underground!" he realized.

He sensed around until he found an area where there wasn't a life source and aimed. In just a few moments, there was a big crater extending down into the Earth.

_I'm coming Pan._

With that, he jumped in.

He landed softly on white tiled floors. The luminescent lights continued down the corridor, until it turned two different directions at the end. Trunks used his senses once again.

_Found you!_

He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He buzzed past several security guards who only felt the rush of wind that he left behind.

Closer and closer he got to her until an alarm went off. Red lights illuminated the once white hallways. Trunks stopped as a line of men in black outfits formed a blockage in front of him, each holding a tranquilizer gun.

"Stop right there, alien!" a man behind the uniformed blockade spoke authoritatively.

"Alien?" Trunks scoffed. "Is that supposed to hurt my feelings?"

The man stepped into Trunks' vision.

"No, but you will cease your advances if you know what's good for you," he snapped. The man motioned toward the guns.

Trunks scoffed again, "We made those. You think they're going to affect me?"

The man faltered a bit but kept his cool feature.

"Who ever said we were going to use it on you?" the man hinted.

Trunks' anger shot through the roof at the threat.

"Where the fuck is she?" he snarled.

"Who?" the man asked coyly.

"Don't play games with me, bastard," Trunks threatened lowly. His fingers itched at his sides. It took all his strength to not blast him and all his cronies into ashes.

"Oh," the man said, feigning remembrance. "You mean your human girlfriend. She's being transferred to a high security clinic for some diagnoses."

"What!" Trunks spat, horror struck. "Diagnoses on what, asshole? You know she's human!"

"Oh yes she's human, but our blood test showed that she's carrying an alien. It seems your kind develop fast. Not the normal nine month period."

"Pan's pregnant?" Trunks' defenses fell instantly. Then suddenly, a bright golden aurora filled the hallway. It's heat singeing the man's coat.

He stepped back, raising a hand in the air. The officers raised their guns ready to aim fire.

"Pa-ahhhhhhhhhh-n!" Trunks screamed in fury, his eyes blazing over to a cold-blooded turquoise color.

"FIRE!" the man yelled.

Each gun shot out a tranquilizer, aiming for his neck but as soon as the needles entered Trunks' line of aura, they burst into flames.

The ground began to shake and electricity snapped. Trunks took one angry breath and aimed.

"You made a mistake," he gritted out and let go of the energy blast.

* * *

**Author's Note: Holy crap, this chapter took forever to post. My school ended recently and I've been working, so updates may be slow from now on. I'm sorry for the lack of detail in this chapter. I promise the next will be better. I just wanted to get this out already.**

**Let's go questions!**

_Q: __**Marron is evil! How did she turn pan in when she had no proof?  
**_**A: T.V. I don't know if I made that clear in this chapter but just in case, let me explain. Trunks and Pan have been spotted by the papp's so when Marron mentioned Pan's name, the Japanese Army are of course going to believe her. **

_Q: Wow. Nice. So Pan is captured. No doubt Trunks will go after her, kill everyone and everything in his path, save her, and find out it was Marron. He'll probably kill her too. The world will be on high alert, want the Briefs family dead, a new threat will arise, Trunks and his family will save the earth, the people will rejoice and accept the saiyans, Trunks gets Pan-- she finds out she's actually a saiyan because of Goku (her grandfather), and they'll all live happily ever after!  
**A:This isn't really a question but it's a guess by Takuma. Lol, there is no tricks or anything when I say Pan's not Saiyan. She really isn't Saiyan and there won't be an evil coming to Earth that they're going to battle. As for the rest, you'll have to wait and see what happens.**_

_Q: Did they mate when they made love in the last chapter?_**  
A: No they didn't mate. Lol.**

_Q: __**I wonder why they don't just search for Marrons Ki lol.  
**_**A: Marron's ki is that of an ordinary human. It's not specific enough for them to pinpoint her location. **


	17. Searching

Chapter 17: Searching

"_What in particular do you search for? Your love, your soul, or both?"_

_- Anonymous

* * *

_

He didn't have time or the effort to think about the consequences of his actions. All he knew was that if he didn't hurry, they'd harm her. Just the thought was like someone dropping hot sauce in his blood. It boiled and churned wanting to be released.

Running through the corridors of the lifeless building, he tried his best to sense her out. Just the tiniest bit so that his heart would be assured that she was in fact, fine. But there wasn't anything, which made his mind reel at all the possible situations she could be in. None of which seemed promising.

Soon there were more men with weapons trailing him. The tranquilizers of the other bunch weren't as effective as they would have hoped. They were too late for a second round. He'd gotten them.

Before he would have given the situation a quick second thought but he couldn't bring himself to stop. It wanted out. And it won against his better judgment. Then again all judgment that he once harbored was lost in his pool of anger.

"Halt alien!" a man from behind him ordered.

Trunks was already running pretty slow by his standards when the men finally caught up. It may have been a sick pleasure that his mind sought out for but he actually _wanted_ them to capture him. That way he could destroy this entire lab from the inside and possibly know where they had Pan.

"I said stop!" the same man exclaimed in fury.

Trunks slowed and eventually turned to face the men that were advancing toward him.

"You called?" he mocked.

"You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law," the man recited cleverly.

Trunks' anger was building once more. His eyes swept the area to see how many soldiers were near. He guessed about eight or nine of them, each possessing a tranquiller gun.

His lips thinned in a line, eyebrows knit together as he repressed the animal inside of him with what little control he had left.

"You listen to me," he growled dangerously. "Don't try to pull that law shit with me when you know very well that Japan doesn't have Miranda rights. In this situation it is you disgusting pieces of filth that are the guilty ones so don't attempt to make yourselves the heroes. And by the way, tranquilizers have no affect on me. I'd tell you to ask your friends but they're unfortunately disintegrated from existence. Now unless you want that to happen to you, you'd point me in the direction of the person I am looking for."

The man seemed to be debating something in his head as Trunks' eyes flashed a quick ocean green color before switching back to his blue ones.

"Alright, you win," the man shrugged indifferently.

If Trunks hadn't dealt with bluffs at his job then he would have actually believed him. Fortunately for him, he could see past the apathy and prepared himself for any kind of trick they might try to pull.

"What do you even want from me?" Trunks asked cautiously. Sure he was part alien but if he was any danger to them, wouldn't they know that it would have been done long time ago?

"You aliens need to remove your stay from our planet. We've seen the kind of damage you are capable of and we can't take any chances with you beasts," the leader of the group snarled.

Trunks rolled his eyes inwardly at how melodramatic the guy was being. How impossible were these humans?

But that was all he could even begin to think when a searing pain ripped through his back muscles.

Trunks grunted and staggered, his eyes drooping.

"Cheap shot, bastards."

He stumbled around, trying to stay still without falling over as he tried to muster up an energy blast in one hand. The soldiers took a step back, eyes wide, but the leader of the group didn't even budge.

He wore a smirk on his face. His high cheekbones made him seem even crueler than he probably really was. His hands were behind his back as he slowly walked toward Trunks.

"You wouldn't know how to play fair, alien," the man sneered viciously before Trunks finally fell down onto his knees.

Then the man grabbed Trunks by the hair, lifting his drooping chin so that they were face to face. Trunks winced at how easily that hurt rather than at the pain. What was happening to him?

"You see," the man breathed deviously, "Our main source has informed us about your specific type of body. Thus, we realized that if we hit you with enough tranquillizers, your body would work rapidly with it. Increasing your chances of going paralyzed and unconscious."

Trunks vaguely realized that he couldn't move any single body part except for his face muscles. But those were beginning to tighten as well.

"Where is she?" Trunks grunted. It hurt to speak because of his efforts to move muscles that were supposed to be immovable.

"Not here," the man hissed and let go of his head.

Trunks fell and didn't get up.

--

Pan didn't know where she was, not that she ever did in the first place. But things were becoming more and more confusing and frightening at the same time. She was pregnant with Trunks' child, which meant the baby was a quarter alien. And knowing the people that she had dealt with thus far, they were going to experiment on her and the baby.

She wondered if Trunks knew that she had been captured. She wasn't sure but a feeling in the pit of her stomach said that he was in danger of something terrible. What if he got caught? She wasn't sure what she would do if he were in fact detained. Who was going to get them out now?

"Please God," she whispered in agony. "Please protect us."

Suddenly two men entered the small asylum Pan was kept in. This was definitely not the same area that she had been when they tested out her blood but it was somehow linked to it.

They grabbed her by each shoulder and dragged her out of the room. Pan bit down on her lip and desperately tried to remain calm. Panic was never a good thing and she didn't have time to miss a step with these people. She had to figure out her own escape without harming the baby that was slowly growing inside of her. She wished she were on a regular nine-month period but Trunks' kind grew tremendously faster than the average human baby.

The brought her to a room similar to the asylum, except this one had a large machine inside. It lit up and beeped in several areas. She didn't know what it was but it looked similar to a CAT scan machine. Though this one was protected by a long glass case around it.

The right side of the machine had a laying area, with a tread moving to the inside of the machine.

"Strap her in," someone said from the corner. She had missed this person when coming in due to the thing in front of her.

Her eyes widened in horror at the realization that this metal contraption was where they were going to put her in.

Pan struggled violently in her hold. Pushing back and forth in order to get free of the men's grips.

"No!" she screeched. "NO, NO!" she continued her flailing but to no avail.

The threw her inside the glass case and strapped her against the tread belt. Her arms were held down as were her legs and waist and neck.

Tears that she had held back were now streaming down her face as she continued to bash around furiously.

"Truuuuuuuuunks!" she let out a blood-curdling scream. "Truunks! Trunks help meeee! Heeeeeeeelp!!"

Her vocal chords tingled in pain but didn't stop screaming. Not until the machine drew her inside did she stop.

* * *

**Author's Note:** This again took forever to put up and it's short too... I know. I'm very sorry but I do hope this little suspense will continue to keep you interested. I don't remember if there were any questions but if you have any please let me know.

And thank you for the reviews!!!!!!! I love you guys for the wonderful comments.

Please so do again. :)


	18. Slowly Surely

Chapter Eighteen: Slowly; Surely

"_Patience is a virtue."

* * *

_

"_Trunks!" whispered a voice. "Trunks! Help me! Trunks!" _

_It was so close he almost thought someone was actually in his ear. He gave a quick look to be sure that that wasn't the case. He sighed. It was not. Yet, the voice was so familiar he felt that he could even put a name to it. Someone dear to him perhaps? Who was it? Why couldn't he remember?_

_He looked around him seeing nothing but the lowly dimmed streetlights in a very gloomy city street. He hugged his trench coat closer and hid his face into the shadows. _

"_Trunks!" The voice came again. _

_He tried to shake the nauseating feeling from his stomach. This voice. It was in distress and the mere thought of that was making him sick. He walked on aimlessly with no particular destination in mind. Before he knew it though, he came to a stop. He looked up and saw an ominous building. The lights around it were either busted or barely flickering to stay on. It was behind barbed wires that were at least eight feet up with spikes at the top. It looked like a prison with nothing alive, but something was telling him to go inside._

"_Trunks!" The voice was louder now._

_He levitated over the fence and finally setting himself down. He began to walk, the Earth crumbling under his feet. The wind blew about, making his hair lift, but he dug himself deeper into his coat. He didn't want to be seen._

_He walked around the building, looking for some sort of entrance. He came up to a crater in the ground extending all the way down. A sudden feeling of déjà vu occurred before he jumped in. _

_He walked. There was nothing around him but the empty steel-like walls and the fluorescent light guiding his path. Where was he going exactly? Nothing was actually telling him to explore the area. But deep inside, he had a feeling that he should. _

_Walking further he saw bodies on the ground. It looked like a bunch of men in dark blue uniforms with one of them wearing a white lab coat. He checked their pulses. Nothing. It seemed like everything in this building was dead. Not a single breathing thing at all. He couldn't sense anything much less see. So why was he here again? _

"_Trunks!" The same voice called. "Trunks help me! Help us!"_

_He looked around. Where was it coming from? It was unbelievably frustrating that he couldn't even put a name or even a face to the voice. All he knew was that he had to find out where it was coming from. It was as if his own life were depending on it. Some part of him was ready to burst if he didn't know._

"_Trunks!"_

"_Where are you! _Who_ are you?" He shouted. He was perplexed. Completely and utterly confused about the situation._

"_Trunks!" It just said._

_He gave the bodies one last glance before breaking into a run. The voice got louder and louder as he rounded corners and climbed up stairs. He was running blind but it didn't seem to matter because either way, he didn't know where he was going. Just following the voice that refused to stop calling him. _

_He came into a room. No one was inside, it seemed. Just a bunch of machines he didn't recognize. He noted the test tubes, the flasks, the goggles, the microscopes and a large operating table with a white cloth covering it. _

_What was peculiar about it though, was that it seemed to be hiding something underneath. He took a step cautiously while being sure to keep his guard up. For all he knew, there could be something highly disturbing underneath that white sheet._

_He was about to slowly lift the covers when the voice screamed louder than ever. He grimaced and covered his ears._

"_Shut up…" he grunted while straightening his posture. However, just saying that made his insides burn with guilt. He tried to shrug the feeling off and lifted the sheet up by a few inches._

_He froze in horror. He was staring at himself. His skin was pale and his lavender hair was dull._

_The voice came again, "Trunks!"_

_He spun around, already dizzy from what he had encountered. _

_What did this voice want from me!? He thought vehemently. How is my body and conscious separated? If it were a dream, would I still be able to see myself? Was that even scientifically possible? Who the hell has even encountered something like this? Am I going crazy?_

"_Where are you? What do you want!?" He called out pathetically. He could barely even stand. He was aching where he shouldn't be. His mind soaring at all the possibilities of why his body was under those sheets while his conscious was fully awake and searching. "What do you want from me!" he shouted once more feeling a wave of nostalgia. _

"_Help. Me." It whispered this time as if it were far away._

"_Can you explain what is going on?" he shouted with anticipation. "Can you tell me why I'm here?"_

"_Trunks!" It suddenly screeched then faded away into nothing. _

_He took one last look at his body before breaking into a sprint. That voice. So familiar._

_He ran and ran until he came to a dead end. The voice was now unrelenting. Calling his name in alarm and panic. It was almost deafening. He spun around in circles trying to pinpoint the location of it but it echoed and bounced off the walls as if it were trying desperately to lead him to a dead path and then deserting him with no where to go. _

"_Trunks…" it sighed. _

"_I can't find you!" he cried desperately. "Where are you! I want to help! I want to find you."_

_There was an abrupt silence that left everything in eerie stillness. He heard his own breathing, which was frantic and uneven as if he ran a hundred miles. He blinked and looked around him. There was nothing. Just white walls and blinding fluorescent lighting. _

_He took off in another direction and jogged through the empty hallway. There were rooms now, unlike where he was before. They were all locked from the looks of things with only a small window near the top center of each. It seemed more and more like an asylum than anything else he had ever encountered. _

_Why couldn't he make sense of anything? He was smart, practically a genius but nothing was clicking. He only felt a dreaded déjà vu and queasiness as he neared the end of the hall._

_He collapsed onto the floor, overcome with confusion and a feeling of loss. _

"_What am I doing?" he asked himself meekly._

_He took in his surroundings once more. Nothing. There was absolutely nothing but locked doors all the way down. It was pathetic and a waste of time entirely. He wanted to leave out of this place and forget everything but something glued him here. As if it were saying that it possessed something so close to his heart that if he left, he himself would die._

_He stood up and sighed. _

"_Trunks." The voice came again._

_His head snapped into a particular direction. A door he had missed. It seemed like a fire-escape route. Without further thought he opened it and went in. Rather than seeing stairs that went up, he saw a flight going down. _

"_How much farther?" he asked the voice, even though he didn't expect an answer. _

"_Trunks," it whispered from deep down the stairs. He took one good look at it before sprinting down._

_It was a long way away from the upper level of the building and he could only guess how deep into the Earth he was, but he didn't have time to contemplate anything because as soon as his foot reached the last step on the staircase everything flooded back into his mind._

"_Pan!" he shouted in horror. "Where are you? Tell me where you are! Anything!"_

"_Trunks," she whispered softly. "I'm here."_

_He looked around. It wasn't any different than the story above but it had more metals around the walls, as if it were a holding it up right. There weren't any rooms except for a single door at the very end. This must be a dream. This _has_ to be a dream._

"_Help me."_

"_I'm coming Pan! I'm here! Don't worry!" _

_He didn't want her to panic but he couldn't stop himself from paling at the thought that something bad was happening to her. Her and the baby. It wasn't fair! Why her? Why her of all people! _

_He neared the end but then as if things weren't horrendous enough, everything suddenly molded together and the only thing he saw was white. No door, no metal, no lights, nothing. Just a wall of white._

"_Trunks!" she shrieked. "Trunks! Trunks! Trunks!"_

_Tears poured down his eyes in frustration as he felt around for some sort of opening. He punched the wall as hard as he could but there wasn't a sign of any damage. He was hysterical. He had to get to her. HE HAD TO GET TO HER!_

"_Can't get in! Pan! Please! Hang on!"_

"_TRUUUUUUUUNKS!" was her final scream before everything went dark._

He jolted awake suddenly, cold sweat matting his body. He moved his head to the side to peer at his surroundings. There was a doctor like figure sitting at a computer nearby, typing furiously while glancing at a couple pieces of paper. Other than him there was no one there.

A machine started beeping, catching the man's attention. He glanced up and met Trunks' fierce blue eyes. He sneered at the man who was now walking toward him with a particularly arrogant smirk on his face.

Trunks lifted an arm to blast him only to find that he was completely strapped in. The doctor's eyes gleamed as Trunks realized he was trapped.

"Ah, I see the alien is awake," he chuckled coyly.

"Where is she?" Trunks asked murderously. When the doctor didn't give a reply his anger shot through the roof. He began to shake his entire body in fury. "Where is she dammit, where is she?!"

The shackles around his ankles began to loosen slightly.

The doctor unfortunately, noticed this as well. He reached around his back pocket and pulled out a taser gun. Trunks' eyes narrowed at him.

"You think that'll stop me?" he challenged fiercely.

The doctor only smirked before he put it on full blast and directed it toward his heart. Trunks felt it clench inside and the stinging pain of being electrocuted run a course through his veins. His head drooped but he wasn't about to let mere humans win, so he feigned unconsciousness as his foot slowly inched out of the hold it was in.

Silently and carefully, he began to shake his foot. The room started to flicker and some of the liquids in test tubes began to quiver. Slowly and surely he would create an earthquake and once he was out of his hold, they were all going to pay.

He was going to rip their souls apart, slowly but surely, because he knew exactly where Pan was.

_--_

"Please help him," the blue-haired woman whimpered. Her eyes puffy from crying, she could only weep some more. Her son. Her only son.

"I'm going woman," Vegeta said softly. "I'll bring him back."

* * *

**Author's Note: So did this disappoint? I'm very close to finishing this story and I hope everyone is enjoying the action/drama displayed. I know the chapters aren't very long but my upcoming new story will be better in length. **


	19. A Loss

Chapter 19: A Loss

"_Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live."_

_- Norman Cousins_

The wind was sharp against his skin almost as if it were trying to hold him back from his mission. It wasn't an effortless fly, much to Vegeta's surprise. He felt like he was slowing down rather than speeding up if that illusionary sense was possible midflight but it didn't matter though. He had promised the woman that he would get to the boy and bring him back safe. That wouldn't solve anything, however. They would still be in hiding if Bulma were to be left with the decision-making, so Vegeta turned his speed a couple notches down. It didn't make a difference. He knew that by the time he got there, the humans' fates would have already been dealt with.

--

The ground rumbled and churned beneath his feet. He wasn't in his right state of mind, he knew but it didn't make a difference any longer. Drawers opened and contents fell out, glasses shattered, test tubes filled with chemicals exploded sending the liquids everywhere and the man keeping him prisoner was sprawled on the floor trying desperately to get a footing.

Trunks refused to stop. He wanted the man to fear him just as the ground did. He wanted him to shake with fright until it led to his own suicide. He wanted the man to take a gun to his head and shoot. He wanted to tear him into pieces and enjoy it like a bloodthirsty animal.

Carnal rages grew, as did the quakes and with one mighty heave, he broke free of his restraints looking like a loose monster. He pointed two fingers at the man on the ground and smirked.

"Please!" he whimpered. "I have kids and a wife to go to!"

Trunks' eyes narrowed. He lowered himself to the man's level and sneered.

"You humans have no passion for living things. The minute you find something abnormal you shun it out of your lives. I can accept that with myself but you will not live after taking my soul and confining her into lab experiment."

He stood up and aimed his palm directly at the man's tearful face.

"Say goodbye human," Trunks hissed.

Before the man could even cry out, the room was illuminated into a blinding white light and consuming everything in its radius.

Trunks didn't stick around to see the aftermath; instead he sped his way expertly through corridors and doorways until he found himself in the same exact place as the mysterious white wall that blocked him from Pan. Panic as well as rage gripped at him with claws, threatening to tear him to shreds if he didn't get her out of harms way once and for all.

"Pan!" he shouted, his voice bouncing off the walls and echoing down the hallway. He looked left and right, trying desperately to sense her out. He couldn't. A lump started forming in his throat disabling him from being able to swallow correctly. Was he too late? He couldn't be! Dammit he couldn't'!

He tried to locate other life forces. They were all weak but they were here and in a particular room in the far end. He made a mad dash for it and burst open the door wide open. Then he sensed a familiar energy, though it wasn't Pan's. It was a bit stronger than the humans' but not that much. Then it clicked. His child. His ki radiated distress, spiking up and down but losing energy all the same.

If the baby was alive, than so was Pan… right? Unless she recently… he couldn't even finish the thought. Pan was strong. She should be confident that he was going to get her out. No need to give up… no need to give up.

His blazed eyes turned to the people inside the room. They were all staring at him deathly still. Not a single person moved an inch from their place. With his peripherals, he saw scans of Pan's body from just about every angle. They had CAT scans of her brain with several theories written just below them.

_Alien, human, child, quarter alien _were some of the words he could pick out from the board without turning his head fully. He was losing time. He needed to get out of here with Pan safe and sound.

"Where is she?" Trunks asked in a low cold tone. His fists were clenched at his sides, shaking nearly out of his control. No one could estimate his anger right now, not even his father.

"W-who?" came a shuttered response.

He glared.

"Well if you don't know," Trunks ground out, "then I'll search for myself. However, I highly recommend your cooperation, human. If you value your life, unlike my captor."

Another man spoke up, "the army is on its way here, alien! They'll rid of you and your alien mate!"

"Such strong words for a weakling," Trunks smirked. "By the time they get here, you won't be alive. But that all depends on whether or not you're going to show me where my mate is."

The man who had threatened him had indeed turned out to be a coward. He nodded dumbly and began to walk toward a giant machine. It was cream colored with several lights flickering. It rumbled like a super printer getting ready to print out various copies of a newspaper.

The man reached and unlatched a hatch that revealed a number pad. He typed in a number combination in a sluggish manner and that was when Trunks noticed. This man's hand was not shaking in fear or anxiety. In fact, he didn't seem afraid at all and neither did the other occupants of the room.

"Wait right there human."

And then he heard it. The sound of a gun click and a warping noise like an electric motorcycle, rearing back before blasting forward.

"I'd wait first, alien."

This intruder had snuck up behind him without him even sensing it. Damn. He was too preoccupied with Pan's safety that he couldn't even analyze the situation. However, this pulse gun was not going to hurt him.

"Get those tranquil guns," the man holding the gun ordered.

There was a shuffle of feet but Trunks was faster. He phased before the people leaving and punched them all, knocking them out.

The gun was still pointed in the same direction. The man did not avert it back in Trunks' direction.

"That was a bit nasty, alien," The man sneered before giving him a devious smirk. "But I have done my homework. You seem awfully protective of this girl, and I can understand why. She's breeding your genes… producing more aliens to pollute this world. Well, I won't have any of that."

Trunks' eyes shot in horror. He took off toward his direction, shoulder ready to ram him against a wall but he was late by a second. The pulse gun was fired directly at the machine that held Pan and their child. It came off its secure hold on the ground and flipped several times in the air before landing upside down in the room next door.

Trunks grabbed the man's collar, straddling him. He punched him repeatedly in blind rage before forming a ki ball in his palm. The man's face was not unrecognizable. Bloodied up and deformed, his mouth hanging open from his broken jaw.

It was a gruesome sight but that didn't stop the tears in Trunks' eyes as he grit his teeth.

"I'll kill you, bastard!" he screamed and let the ki ball go. The man disintegrated in ashes.

Trunks leaped off the floor and punched a hole in the machine before ripping the part that was sticking up, completely off.

There she was. Unconscious and barely alive. Blood was trickling down from her hairline and her arm looked broken, but he wasn't paying enough attention to that… there was blood staining her undergarment. The baby didn't make it.

Trunks carefully lifted Pan out of the machine being sure to avoid hitting her arm against anything. Tears wouldn't be enough for this moment. The child he came to possess in these last hours was gone before they even knew it. No doubt Pan didn't know she had lost the child and he wished with all his might that he could prevent her from ever finding out. It was going to kill her.

He sobbed into her chest, kneeling helplessly on the floor.

"I'm sorry, Pan. I'm so," he shuttered, "so very sorry."

There was crunching noise behind him. Someone was stepping over the gravel. He didn't have it in him to fight. The loss was too much to bear.

"Just leave us alone," Trunks nearly whimpered.

There was a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Son?" it was Vegeta.

Then it snapped. It burned and churned inside of him. The same rage as when he first found out about Pan's kidnapping.

He screamed in anger for the cruelty of life. He screamed in agony for not being able to save his own blood. He screamed in fear for nearly killing Pan in the process. And he screamed in blood lust to kill everyone on that crossed his path.

When he stood up, Vegeta saw a distinct look that he couldn't fathom. Trunks, his own son, looked very much like a legendary Super Saiyan.

--

A lieutenant scurried around people and objects, holding a piece of paper in his hand. He came across a door and without knocking, he barged in.

"Sir! Sir! Urgent message!" he gasped, trying to catch his breath.

The chief of headquarters swiveled around in his chair.

"What is it?"

"The laboratory that held the aliens has been blown up. This was all that was sent before the line was broken."

The lieutenant placed the paper down on the chief's desk.

"By god… we need to go on high alert, immediately. Close all entrances to this building. No one is to go in or out without my permission."

The lieutenant and chief both ran out of the room shouting orders. The chief ran up to Marron who was sitting, watching T.V. He turned off the television and stuck the paper in front of her face.

"What's the big idea!" she protested, a hand over her heart attempting to calm herself.

"What does this mean!" the chief demanded.

Marron turned pale after reading the paper.

"Hide me!" she screeched, trying to get out of the chair. The chief pushed her back down.

He shook the paper in anger. "It says they! As in more than one!?"

"I told you his father was an alien too! It must be him! You need to seal us off! We're not safe here!"

The chief stood upright.

"We will never turn away from a fight," he growled and left Marron dumbstruck and the paper, lying on the floor.

She picked it up and sank in her seat. No, no, no. This was not how it was supposed to end! How did they find out where they were! How!?

She crumbled up the paper and threw it before making a run. She had to get out of here before he found out.

The paper unfolded itself on the floor just by a smudge. The print wasn't finished. The bottom half the words were cut off but the message was very clear.

_They are coming._

--

Author's Note: Holy crap, I'm sooo proud of this chapter! I sincerely apologize for not updating soon. It's been months, I know. I recently started college and I haven't really had the time. Plus, I rewrote this chapter to add more action to it and it took forever to get it right. Anyways, I've also been working on a new story that I will be posting up after I finish this one. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review!


	20. Discovered

Chapter 20: Discovered

"_You'll never cry, long as I am there."_

_- NSYNC – That's When I'll Stop Loving You

* * *

_

The moonlight shown through a crack in the drapes of one of the rooms in Kami's House, illuminating a man and a woman suffering agony like no other. The pain and the loss racked up without mercy on the man's shoulder while the woman slept oblivious to anything but her own demons raging inside of her.

It had been nearly five hours since Trunks and Vegeta returned back to Kami's House with Pan in Trunks' arms. She looked battered as nearly every each of her skin was either bruised or cut. She was pale as a ghost with only her eyelids coating a gray color showing extreme exhaustion.

Trunks was close to erupting in anger once again as each hour passed by and still no sign of recovery. He wished there was something he could do that could help her get better faster but Krillin's house had nothing but buckets of water, towels, and some over-the-counter drugs. It was as if life was loving and thriving on his pain. Nothing in this world had ever made him even remotely feel this helplessness and he wanted it all to go away.

Trunks sat next to her bed looking helpless and desperate. His legs were spread apart with an arm propping his head on one knee as he continued to stare at Pan. His heart rate was beating rapidly, fear and hot rage clawing at every corner of his mind, refusing even one bit of peace of mind.

Every now and then Pan's eyebrows would scrunch up and she would groan in pain but other than that, there was no other sign of her being alive other than the staggered breathing. How he wished he could switch places with her. Or perhaps wish everything away. Anything to take the pain away.

Trunks got up and walked toward her bed and kneeled down. Reaching under the white sheet that covered her, he found her hand. It was clammy just like the rest of her. Her nails purple and fingers a pasty white.

"What can I do for you Pan?" he whispered, gripping her hand tighter. "What can I do for you to wake up?"

There was no response as always.

"Hey Pan?" he started again after long pause. "Remember when I brought you those fake flowers and said that they had a bigger meaning? I should have told you back then…" he coughed, clearing his throat, and waited for a movement.

None came.

So he continued…

"I want you to know that you're the best thing that has ever happened to me. If there were words to describe just how special you are to me, I'd tell you every single minute. I knew that it was impossible so I settled for a more permanent object. I picked those plastic flowers because they don't die. I knew that after everything that you've been through and that if I ever had the chance to come into your life, I would love you till every last one of those flowers died."

Trunks paused again to wipe a tear that was trailing down his cheek and rubbed his nose, sniffling a bit.

"I didn't know," he laughed ruefully, sniffing again, "that that was a horrible representation of my love for you."

He looked at her face hoping for something that could show him that she was listening. He shook his head and glanced down at her hand in his. He rubbed his thumb over her hand reveling on the feeling of her skin on his and continued. He sighed.

"They burned your house, Pan, thinking I was in there. Everything was caught in flames and those flowers that I gave you died along with everything else in that house except for us."

Pan twitched making Trunks jump in his spot. He leaned close to her and searched her face for another sign of movement.

"Pan, honey. Can you hear me, baby?" His voice was still an urgent whisper that seemed to do nothing but heat up the room in emptiness.

Pan didn't respond.

Trunks kneeled back into his position and continued on.

"No one can tear me away from you Pan and nothing will ever stop me from loving you."

Trunks took her hand and placed it on his chest.

"Do you hear that Pan? You own it."

More tears started to fall. Trunks pursed his lips to prevent himself from breaking down and gently squeezed her hand closer to his heart.

"You're the only one I'll ever give this heart to. Without you there would be no me. There is no Trunks Briefs without a Pan Briefs by his side."

He gazed at her pale face.

"Marry me Pan. Wake up and tell me that you'll marry me. I'll make all of this go away if you would just crack one eye open for me. I will love you for always and won't stop until there is no more forever. I promise you that Pan. Just wake up for me. Please," sobs racked his body and he finally let everything he held in, out. "Please wake up Pan. I'll trade anything and everything I have for you."

Trunks stood up weakly and made his way around the bed. He lifted the covers and gently slid in next to her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and inhaled her scent and continued to cry until the morning time.

--

Bulma was going in to the room with a blanket and pillow for Trunks when she heard him speaking softly. She was debating on whether or not to drop the stuff outside the door when curiosity got the best of her. She set the blanket and pillow down and leaned against the doorframe and listened.

"…I'll trade anything and everything I have for you."

Bulma covered a hand over her mouth. Tears had long started when Trunks started to talk. Her son probably felt as if the whole world was against his happiness and she desperately wished she could deny it all, but even she was beginning to doubt it. Bulma regretted the days she forced Trunks to pursue Marron. It was futile but she didn't know her son was capable of this great feeling when so many women out there used him. Once Pan came along, he changed for the better. He was constantly happy and thankful for everything. So why did everything turn into pieces just when things were beginning to look heavenly for her son? He didn't deserve this, dammit!

She hiccupped but bit her lower lip to prevent it again. After hearing the last bit of his speech and the continuous sobs, Bulma left to her own room, hugging herself as tightly as she could.

--

The next day, the gang gathered in the kitchen to discuss some plan to figure out who caused all of this. All except Trunks.

"It could be anyone!" Krillin exclaimed. "Who knows how many people have a vendetta against Trunks."

"Not many people hate my brother, Krillin," Bulla defended. She frowned at the thought that someone would even consider disliking her brother.

"It doesn't take a load of people to let the Japanese Army know that there are aliens!" Krillin retorted.

He crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back into his chair.

"Has your brat shown up yet?" Vegeta interrupted drumming his fingers on the table.

"No… we were going to send out a search party for her but then she might be traced back to you guys. Krillin and I would search for her at night but there's not a trace of her." Eighteen responded.

Trunks, who was listening to the conversation from the doorway, walked in. His eyes were still a bit puffy but that didn't stop the penetrating hate that shot out from his blazed eyes.

"I should have known," he gritted out angrily. "Father," his eyes snapped in Vegeta's direction. "When did you figure it out?"

"Not too long ago," was his reply.

Bulma and the rest looked confusedly between the two.

"What are you guys talking about?" Bulma finally asked, seeing that neither were going to share the little secret circulating between the two.

"We know who's behind our exposure." Trunks nodded toward his father and they both stood up, making their way toward the door.

"It's daylight!" Bulma shouted at them. "They'll spot you!"

"I want them to try and stop me," Trunks growled. "They'll pay for what they did to Pan!"

"I guess I'll go and search for Marron," Krillin agreed. "They'll be too busy with you guys to know that I'm out."

Trunks glared at him. "Oh don't worry about your little daughter. I know exactly where she is."

Krillin froze looking confused. Eighteen stopped breathing.

"Where is she?" he finally managed to get out.

Trunks took a menacing step toward him. Krillin took a step back in fear.

"Don't you get it, Krillin?" he spat. "Your little daughter is the one who caused all this."

Tension grew as what Trunks said registered with the two parents of the one girl who managed to ruin everything Trunks stood to protect.

Eighteen stepped forward, her fisted palms shaking in anger.

"You're lying!" she shouted. "My daughter would never do that!"

"Keep telling yourself that woman," Vegeta smirked. "She's already done it."

"I don't believe you!"

"That's fine," Trunks' lips thinned in a line. "Whether you believe us or not, I'm still going to find her. And once I do, I'll kill the bitch myself if the Japanese Army doesn't figure out she's half android before I get to her."

With that, father and son blasted off into the sky, leaving Bulma in a very tough position.

She turned to look at the two people behind her and faltered in her step. They were glaring at her as if she was the one who said their daughter was a traitor. She tried to come up with some sort excuse to ease the tension and hatred. Before she could speak however, Eighteen stepped forward.

"Get the fuck out of my house," she spit. "You and your son's whore."

Bulma glared, "Gladly. After what your daughter has put us through. I guess like mother like daughter. Tough talk for someone who used to be a killing machine at one point in time. If it weren't for the Dragon Balls, you'd be dead yourself."

Bulma left and hurried toward the room Pan was in. She had to get the girl somewhere to get medical attention before the dead baby inside of her killed her. Where could she go where Pan would be safe? Not the hospital. They'd recognize her. Where? Where? Where?

Bulla walked in behind her, having been quiet throughout the whole ordeal.

"Mom?"

"Bulla, pick her up and follow me outside. We're getting out of here."

"Gladly."

With Pan held bridal style in Bulla's arms, she and Bulma walked outside onto the sunny day. Bulma reached into her pocket and pulled out a capsule. She popped it open. Once the smoke cleared out, Bulma's jet stood in full front view.

It was a small thing. Enough to fit two people in and no room for a third at all. Especially one that was in need of medical help.

"I'll put her in mom. I'll fly," Bulla said after seeing the accommodations.

Bulma turned to her daughter and smiled.

"Stay close. Who knows what's out there."

"I'm a Saiyan," Bulla smirked. "I've got this."

After strapping Pan in, Bulma typed a location in the navigator. Lights blinked and a computer voice acknowledged the location.

"Where are we going?" Bulla asked curiously.

Bulma typed one last thing into the pad and turned to face Bulla.

"Pan's parents."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is slowly coming to an end people. I'm actually very happy about it because I've got two other stories waiting to be published :P

I hope you enjoyed and thank you sooo much for the reviews.

Please do so again :)

Merry X-Mas everyone!


	21. A Different Life

Chapter 21: A Different Life

"_A man's character is his fate."_

_- Unkown

* * *

_

Trunks and Vegeta touched down on the JA's premises. It wasn't particularly hard to figure out the headquarters of the army. Who could miss a giant stone and a metal building with the JA's symbol boasting proudly down at the city? Just looking at the logo tipped Trunks' anger off the charts and into dangerous water.

He stood back and scanned the area, pinpointing all the windows that were not covered with what looked like CC's metal frames. It didn't look like there were any. How did they plan on protecting themselves against something his company built? Trunks almost laughed at the pure irony of the situation had the little voice in his head alerted him of incoming shots.

He jumped as a substantial amount of weaponry was drawn out from every single corner and every single inch of the government building. Supersized pulse guns began to warp, reeling back to fire but Trunks smirked.

"You plan on firing those things when the whole city is behind me?" he implored.

Trunks wasn't sure if they could hear him but it didn't matter. The pulse guns fired, and jetted straight at Trunks and Vegeta. They jumped out of the way just as the pulse reached the spot where they stood and continued until it made impact with the houses a few feet away. They shattered into pieces, splinters of wood and chunks of debris flying like fireworks.

Vegeta touched back down and looked behind him.

"Are they crazy!" Trunks snapped, his eyes wide with shock.

Vegeta frowned, his eyes narrowing. "They cleared the area."

Trunks looked back as well. The shock on his face was replaced with a menacingly look.

"So they knew we were coming."

Vegeta only nodded.

Still suspended in the air, Trunks' lips thinned. "Wonder who gave them the heads up." He was sure that the only speck of sympathy he had for Marron dissipated with the houses behind him. There was no way anyone was going to stop him from murdering her.

--

On the flight to Pan's parents' home, Bulla asked again how she knew the location of Pan's family through her Bluetooth.

"This aircraft is built with a specialized GPA that I recently made for our newer models," she explained while gripping the wheel tightly. "It's advanced in a way where you can type in the last name of any person on the planet and it finds their location. Of course I have to have it even more specific since some last names are similar or are alike. But Pan's isn't too hard. There's only about twelve in Japan and since her father is one of the most acclaimed scholars in the country, it limits down to about two. There are two Sons on the location of Gohan Son and we'll just have to find out which is which. Who knows, maybe they're related. Check on Pan, will you?"

Bulla slowed her pace and peeked through the window of the jet. She still seemed asleep but some of the color was returning.

"She's looking better," Bulla commented.

"We need to get her medical attention, fast. That dead baby inside of her is going to kill her," Bulma breathed and turned the speed up to its highest level.

--

Trunks summoned several energy blasts and aimed it at the building. The balls of fire hit random spots but Trunks didn't really care. Vegeta joined him and soon the guns were either melted or completely charred in the explosion that took place. With the weaponry taken care of, Trunks worked on a Big Bang Attack and aimed it directly in the center between four windows where he knew a weak area was. Sure enough the blast broke through and came out the other side. The building creaked as if it was about to collapse and Trunks was in no doubt that it wouldn't.

"Brat, as much as I enjoy your true Saiyan side, your mother would disapprove of you killing more people than you already have," Vegeta's gruff voice did nothing to hinder Trunks' intention. He merely stared at his father before exploding into Super Saiyan mode and shot inside JA.

His father, he recalled, stayed outside.

Trunks landed smoothly and looked around. There were cubicles, maps and several other military stuff inside, though it didn't look as if the place was used more than just a meeting location. The area was clear but he sensed several people below him. He inspected the marble floor for a split second before his eyes narrowed in slits and his mouth upturned into a smirk.

"This underground shit is not going to save you," he muttered before stomping hard. The polished marble floor cracked in an instant and with the second stomp of his foot, the ground caved and metal groaned under. Picking up the loose debris, he flung it at computers, windows, and doors with as much energy as he could, determined to wipe the place out as soon as he was done.

He distinctly heard screams but he was beyond sanity. Bringing a palm to the obstacle, he slowly began to melt away the metal knowing that the suspense was killing the weasels below. The screams got louder.

"He's going to kill us!" one shouted.

"We're already dead!" another responded in the same panic.

"We have to fight!" a third commanded.

Trunks restrained himself from rolling his eyes. These humans had no chance. It's too bad they didn't realize the simple fact.

Ripping his sleeves off, Trunks stood and brought both hands together into one fist. With one mighty heave, he slammed his adjoined fists down on the metal roofing. The entire ceiling bent and the area he heated up completely detached itself from its holding and collapsed on top of two people.

He didn't care to see who it was. It wasn't as if he actually _knew_ these people. And for their sake, that was good thing. Unlike one person.

He smirked.

Or perhaps not.

"Where the fuck is that bitch?" Trunk growled.

"Stand back alien," one brave soldier pointed a pulse gun at him but Trunks yanked it out of his hand and aimed it at him.

"You want to answer the question?" he cocked the gun.

They all looked to one corner. Trunks crushed the pulse gun in his hand and dropped it, taking menacing steps toward the sole person who caused his pain.

"You filthy, rotten, spoiled rat!" he snapped the last word.

"Trunks! Please!" she protested in fear. Marron had soot covering her face and arms but the terror in her eyes showed she didn't care what she looked like in front of the man she obsessed over. "I didn't mean for it to go this far! All I wanted was for you to recognize my efforts!"

"You certainly caught my attention now," he snarled.

Trunks clenched his fists to prevent any damage before he could get some answers from her. At the same moment, Vegeta landed behind him. The occupants of the safe room gasped and took a step back at the Super Saiyan Vegeta.

"Make sure none of them get in my way," Trunks growled.

"You can't kill her," Vegeta stated. "It's not you, son. You have the right to be angry but you don't have the right to take away a life you didn't give."

"I've already killed several. She wouldn't really hurt my conscious," Trunks bit the words out in sick humor.

"Pan wouldn't want you to kill her," Vegeta tried again.

Trunks took a look at Marron and gritted his teeth. "You killed my child and you nearly killed Pan. Give me one reason why I should spare your life when you haven't spared mine."

"I – I -," but the words wouldn't come out. Tears sprung into her eyes, her throat clogged up in fear. "I'm sorry," she sobbed, cupping her face. "I'm so sorry."

Trunks held back all the anger in him in order to speak. "Why did you do it?"

She hesitated. Glancing up at the Super Saiyan man before her sent shots of thrill and horror down her spine. She couldn't answer this man. She was simply too afraid. But Trunks didn't care about the trepidation that radiated in her eyes. Yanking her by her arm in a tight squeeze, Marron gasped in shock and apprehension.

"I couldn't lose you to her!" she cried. "I just couldn't! I've wanted you for so long I'd do anything to be with you!"

"Forget it, whore!" Trunks punched a nearby wall. "You never had a chance! I tried to be gentle with your feelings but this was what I got from my stupidity! I should fry you right here, right now and get rid of the annoyance completely."

"Boy!" Vegeta barked. "Don't be stupid! Go back home to Pan. Find the dragonballs. Wish everything away. I will not have my son sign his name to hell long as I live!"

Trunks threw Marron on the floor and took two steps back. The blonde hit the wall behind her with a thud and winced, nearly blacking out. Instinctively she scrambled back and hugged her knees, afraid of what was to come next. Praying would not help her, she knew. She didn't deserve it. And it took the death of their child to make her realize that what she had for Trunks was a simple obsession and a fantasy that they were meant to be together. The knowledge of Pan and Trunks having a child and losing it, tore her broken heart completely out of her body.

"I'll do anything to set things right, Trunks," she shuddered. "I'm sorry for everything I've done."

Trunks took two steps back, sneering at the woman.

"Did any of you know that this little whore is half android?" he questioned the group behind him. "You've been scared of aliens for so long, you never noticed that you've been protecting one the entire time."

"Android?" one sputtered.

There was a resounding shock of terror at the realization. Then suddenly, the same anger and maliciousness they threatened Trunks with was now directed at Marron. There were name-callings and promises of violence but Trunks didn't hear any of it. He just saw a beat up hussy breaking under the pressure she built up herself.

"You're crying?" he mocked. "Well what you did to Pan is so much worse than what I do to you. She was an experiment! A mere toy in the hands of these bastards! She didn't deserve that! She didn't deserve to lose her first child the way she did! She doesn't deserve to be in coma like state with a dead baby inside her body! And what you did to her, you did to me. If you survive this," Trunks held up his palms as a ki formed in his hand, "you're going to wish you hadn't."

--

"You're who?" the woman asked again. Her hair was tied up in a bun with a few strands hanging lose around her face. She had on an apron and a frying pan in one hand. Though she looked about Bulma's age, she didn't seem to be a very friendly person, though Bulma could reason that she didn't know the woman at all in order to make that assumption.

"I'm Bulma Briefs," she said again. "But I don't have time to fully introduce myself. Do you know Pan Son's parents?"

"Pan? Panny?" the woman's hand loosened and the pan clattered to the floor. "What's happened to Pan?"

"You know her?"

"I'm her grandmother! Oh my lord, please tell she's ok."

"Call a doctor," Bulma waved to her daughter to bring Pan in. "She's gone through a lot."

At the sight of Pan, Chi-Chi gasped. "Goku! Call the doctor! It's Pan! She's hurt bad!"

There was a large commotion thereafter. Two muscled men came out instantly and helped carry Pan into the house. They both looked alike and one could almost say that they were brothers. Setting Pan on a comfortable bed, everyone gathered in the room. A brief introduction was held before the youngest man in the room, Goten, left to go call Gohan and Videl.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Chi-Chi sniffed, gazing down at the motionless Pan.

"You don't know?" Bulla asked, surprised.

"About what?"

"My brother and your granddaughter dating? And us being pegged as aliens?"

Goku and Chi-Chi exchanged looks of confusion. Bulma wasn't sure if she was glad that they were so out of the loop or frustrated to have to tell these people everything from beginning to present.

"Gohan and Videl should be here soon," Goten walked in. "You should wait for them to come too before you start explaining. I think they're more aware of the situation than we are."

Bulma and Bulla were offered something to drink and eat while they waited for the last two family members to arrive. Sitting down at a chair a couple distance from the bed, Bulma only hoped that they wouldn't assume that this all happened intentionally. She didn't know what would happen to Trunks if they banned Pan from seeing him again.

--

The energy he drew emitted electric sparks around the room. It being metal, the sparks only intensified. There was a rush of wind around them, picking up pebbles that began to encircle Trunks' yellow aura. The energy grew and grew in a bright blue current.

"Brat, don't!" Vegeta gritted his teeth. "You're going to kill everyone!"

Seeing that Trunks wasn't listening, Vegeta cursed under his breath and reappeared behind Trunks. With a swift flick of his arm, he knocked his son out cold. He didn't anticipate the energy releasing toward its target. Marron screeched. Vegeta dropped Trunks' dead weight and flew in front of the blast. Deflecting it wouldn't be an option because it would make the whole room collapse. Bracing himself with his arms in front, Vegeta took the blast head on.

--

Two days later, the Briefs and the Sons went through several arguments. The Sons refused to allow Pan to be with Trunks after all that happened at first but once Pan came around on the fourth day, the fierce hurt and anger that shot from Pan stopped all protests.

"I just lost a child in me," she choked from her seat on the ottoman. "You're not taking away what's left of my life."

"You were nearly killed, Pan!" Gohan shouted.

Trunks winced at the memory but Pan ignored him. She limped past everyone to Trunks' side, grabbed his arm and led him outside. Once they found a quiet spot, Pan sat down on the grass and breathed in the air.

"They're right, Pan. You were almost killed. Because of me," Trunks spoke in a whispered tone hating himself by the second. The surgery she went through was rough. He hadn't know all the details because he was unconscious himself but he knew that it was hard. He only berated himself for not being awake and holding strong for her. He cracked just like a wimp under the pressure. He couldn't hold it together and the shame was eating him alive.

Pan blinked and gazed at the man sitting in front of her. "So you're going to leave me?"

"What?" Trunks practically shouted. "Of course not! I'm too selfish for that! I couldn't possibly let you go!"

Pan smoothed out the creases in her dress, grimacing as she accidently grazed her stomach and coughed.

"Then stop thinking that it was you who got me in this mess."

"Who was it then?" Trunks challenged. "Who got you pregnant? Who did you date that brought the JA's attention to you?"

"Just because you got me pregnant while we were dating doesn't mean that you willingly put me in the line of fire," Pan sighed and laid down on the grass. "Just shut up and lay here with me. I haven't been awake for days and all we're doing is fighting. We lost a child Trunks, I think we need each other even more than before."

Trunks did as he was told, pulling her against him gently being sure to avoid her abdomen. He breathed in the scent of nature and Pan's hair, closing his eyes. He wished he could turn back time. He wished he could prevent Marron's jealousy from overreacting. He wished for a lot of things, even the death of Marron.

"I'm glad you didn't kill her," Pan voiced as if reading his thoughts. "She doesn't deserve it. Or her family."

"I was going to kill her," Trunks confessed. "And I would have if it weren't for my father. He knocked me out and took the blast. That's why he's so irritated with me."

"It wouldn't be right," Pan turned to him. "You've killed already. I don't want you to turn into the monster they were making you out to be."

Trunks bit his lip. I wish. I wish. I wish.

"Where have you guys been staying?" Pan asked after a moment of silence.

"Kami's Lookout."

"Where's that?"

"High above the Earth. We're not allowed to stay for too long but we can't be seen in public since they're still on the search for us."

"Stay here," Pan suggested. "With me. You and your family."

"Your family is angry Pan. It wouldn't do for us to provoke it even more by staying."

"But I want you guys safe!"

Pan knew her family. Even though they didn't agree with the situation, they were not about to turn the people that brought her to safety. Not even her angry father. That was just how her family worked and she was sure she could convince them to be mellow about it. They had to be.

Trunks brought a finger to her lips to silence her. She kissed it tenderly and nuzzled into his warmth, tangling their legs together.

I wish. I wish. I wish.

Then it hit. His father had mentioned Dragonballs before knocking him out. He could use them to make things right! He'd do something about this mess once and for all and finally be with Pan in peace. The idea was coming on too fast, Trunks tried to grab onto every part. It was the only answer!

Without another word, Trunks grabbed Pan by the wrist and gently pulled her up to her feet.

"I've got a plan. I'll use the Dragonballs to wish everything back to normal!" he nearly burst with excitement.

"Dragonballs?" Pan asked but he didn't answer. Stumbling inside her grandparent's home, Trunks grabbed his family and pulled them aside. Pan and the rest of the Sons gave them a confused look.

Suddenly, Vegeta was shouting. "You can't wish yourself human, brat! You're the heir to the Saiyan throne! You'll be weak!"

"Vegeta!" Bulma scolded.

"Dad, the Saiyan race is finished! There are no others out there! What am I the prince of? It's pointless! I don't need physical strength when I've got mental. If me being a Saiyan means Pan's danger than I don't want it."

"But Trunks," Bulla objected. "You've always loved being a Saiyan."

"I don't care anymore, Bulla." Trunks clenched his fists and sighed. "I love something much better now."

But Pan wasn't having any of that.

"You are _not_ going to wish yourself human because of me!" she did her best to march over to his side. She wasn't sure what this wishing business was about but she had an idea that it related to the Dragonballs that Trunks had mentioned only seconds before. And from the looks of his family, it didn't seem like the smartest idea to make.

"Stay out of this Pan," he said.

"No!"

"Yes! I've made my decision. Being with you is more important than my heritage. I'm willing to make that sacrifice," he spun around to glare at her.

Pan glared back with the same intensity.

"How can you give up something like that for a person?" she spat angrily.

"Because you are more important to me than anything else in this world! Look what my heritage got us into?" he snapped.

Pan took a step forward, shaking with anger. "Stop blaming yourself for the last fucking time!"

Everyone gasped.

"You turn yourself into a human and you can forget about me! I refuse to be with someone who is not you!" she yelled, balling her fists.

"But I am me! Just not the dangerous side anymore."

"Trunks Vegeta Briefs. When I hear that name I better see a Saiyan. If I don't than you won't be hearing mine."

"Pan," Trunks started but she put a hand up.

"You want to wish for something then let me tell you. Wish for these people to forget what they saw. Wish for Marron to realize her wrongs before they get out of control. Then wish for me to be a Saiyan, just like you," Pan's voice died. Her parent's protested once more but she didn't break the eye connection between them. Her intent was clear and Trunks wanted to shake some sense into her.

"Why do you want to be a Saiyan, Pan? You saw what happens to us. You're body can't handle it. Besides, how can you expect me to change you when the entire time I wanted everything to be about you."

"This is about me, Trunks. _I _want to be this way. You said your race was dying. The only ones left were you guys. Wish me to be at least a quarter Saiyan if you're so adamant on keeping me human and we can increase the bloodline for at least another generation."

"That's not a good reason, Pan. One generation will not bring back a whole race," Trunks shook his head.

"Adam and Eve did."

"It doesn't work that way," Trunks frowned at her persistence. No one spoke, having no idea what to say about the situation.

"Please. I know I'm just giving excuses, but I want to be closer to you and I feel that with this, I can understand your urges and feelings better," Pan placed a hand on his arm.

Trunks tried to shake away the satisfaction that was slowly growing inside him. She actually wanted to be like him. She wanted to understand him. It was too much to think but the joy of it pounded away at the protests his mind was conjuring up.

"Fine," he relented. "But if you change your mind between now and when we find the Dragonballs, you let me know. You're not bound to this idea Pan. I'll turn human for you."

Pan grinned. "Not likely."

Trunks frowned. He wasn't too sure about turning Pan into a Saiyan even if that would simplify life a bit. He wasn't willing to sacrifice her when she already gave up just about everything she stood for. By God, he had the ability to intercept this ridiculous idea of hers and damn him if he didn't. But the prospect of her being Saiyan was too tempting. Trunks didn't know what he was going to do.

--

Author's Note: I hope I have answered a majority of your questions in this chapter. Next is the epilogue, and the story is finished. If there are some things that I have left you, please feel free to ask and I will include it in the epilogue or answer it in the end. Sorry for such a long wait but I do hope you will review and let me know what you think.

Next chapter you will find out what happened with Marron. What Trunks finally wished for. And even Bulla and Goten as well as the rest of the Son family.


	22. Epilogue

Epilogue

"_I bid thee farewell"_

It took the Briefs about a month to find the Dragonballs but the struggle was far from over. Other than being sure to evade the public eye completely, Trunks had deeper troubles that bothered him at night. How could Pan ask him to turn her to something she was not. He didn't have the right. If it weren't for the freak wishes, he shouldn't even have the open option to turn her into something she wasn't born into. This was insane.

Pan, on the other hand, was adamant in her decision. She didn't view it as a change for the worse but a new beginning that enabled her to be closer than ever to Trunks' emotional needs. Having gone through the unimaginable in only a series of months, she was sure that if anything was going to change, it was her. Being that weak and unconscious for so long made her stomach turn. She was pathetic. She didn't deserve a strong man if she herself couldn't handle herself. This world's full of horror and cruelty and if she was going to stay with Trunks, she had to be stronger both physically and mentally. The only solution was being a Saiyan herself. Sure the prospect of the entire situation was frightening but she quickly beat that stupid emotion down. It was time to be courageous and sacrifice for Trunks for once. Stupid thoughts like that were only going to slow her down. She had to do this. For both their sakes.

--

Pan held onto to Trunks' hand to support him as the wind picked up around them. The clouds gathered up in a dark storm. Lightening flashed, illuminating the entire sky with each spark. Trunks sighed then stiffened as the Dragonballs glowed and in lightening bolt, Shenlong's outline formed. With one last glow, there appeared a fierce animal that seemed larger than life. Pan felt the urge to step back but stopped herself after a gentle squeeze from Trunks.

"Name your three wishes!" Shenlong boomed.

Trunks heaved and stepped forward. With determined eyes he said, "I wish the inhabitants of Earth other than the Briefs, Pan Son, and Chestnuts, to forget everything they saw or heard about Saiyans!"

Shenlong's eyes glowed. "Name your second wish!"

"I wish Marron Chestnuts jealousy never went out of control again!"

"Name your final wish," the voice echoed.

Pan breathed. This was it. But Trunks didn't say anything. He hesitated and looked down at his shoes. Fists clenched at his sides and jaw tightening, Pan realized what he was going to say before he even uttered the words.

"I wish –" but he was interrupted by a shriek.

"NO!"

He whipped his head around in panic. Pan took advantage of his momentary distraction and screamed as loud as she could.

"I wish I were a quarter Saiyan!"

Shenlong's eyes glowed one last time.

"No! Pan what the hell are you thinking!" Trunks pivoted and grabbed her shoulders in a tight hold, not realizing his strength. He squeezed and only then did he realize his strength outmatched hers.

"Your wishes have been granted," Shenlong sighed. He shot back into the Dragonballs with a mini earthquake. The balls lifted in the air, circling and finally shooting in several different directions with a sonic boom.

"Shit Pan, are you ok?" Trunks released his grip.

"Never better!" Pan chirped and sucker punched him in the jaw. Trunks flew back a few feet. He landed with a thud.

The Briefs gasped and Vegeta smirked. "Brat, you're fucked now!"

"Vegeta!" Bulma scolded.

He simply shrugged. "What woman? It's the truth!"

Trunks lifted himself up on his elbows, using one hand to rub his chin.

"Damn. What was that for?" he demanded, standing up and dusting himself off.

"For being a near idiot and wishing yourself human!" Pan snapped.

"But –" Trunks protested but Pan raised a hand, indicating that it was the end of the discussion.

"You'll be happy in the long run babe," Pan winked. Trunks had the decency to blush a light pink color. Bulma and Bulla resisted a giggle.

--

Flying over to the Son house, Pan debated on whether or not to tell her parents about her new transformation since they were wished to forget everything they knew about Saiyans. But landing in front of the lawn with Trunks she couldn't believe her eyes.

Her father was lifting a giant tree from its root. Her grandfather was entertaining himself by juggling a couple of boulders and who knew what her mother and grandmother were doing.

"Panny!"

Pan and Trunks whirled around and met the single person she hadn't seen forever.

"GOTEN!" Pan flung herself at him with all her might.

"Pan!," Trunks raised a hand to stop her but it was too late to do anything.

But instead of Goten falling back, he stood his ground firmly and returned the hug with as much enthusiasm.

"Where have you been?" Goten asked.

Pan launched into a short version of what happened, eliminating the Saiyan parts leaving him equally bewildered.

"Damn Pan. I wish I knew about that bastard, I'd of knocked a couple of senses into him. But it looks like someone beat me to it."

Goten directed his attention toward Trunks and the rest of the Briefs and bowed in respect of the elders.

"So are these the in-laws?" Goten joked. Pan blushed profusely.

"Goten," she warned but she was cut off by Trunks.

"Yes. You must be my future uncle in-law," Trunks extended a hand and shook Goten's hand firmly with smile.

Pan was going to faint. She was sure it was going to happen. In-law?

"What?" she breathed.

Trunks winked at her. "What else were you expecting? You can't get rid of me now."

Pan felt silent, celebrating in her mind.

"This is my mom, Bulma, and my father, Vegeta. This beautiful young lady is my sister, Bulla," Trunks introduced with a gesturing hand.

Pan watched her uncle exchange polite words with a special interest in Bulla. She quirked an eyebrow and turned to Trunks who was staring at her.

"Marry me," he mouthed.

Pan nodded, her heart accelerating at the secretive intimacy.

"You'll never guess what happened!" Goten was saying to Trunks who was half-listening and half watching at his future bride. "We suddenly got these supernatural powers out of no where! It's awesome. I can jump so high it's crazy!"

This time everyone was listening.

"What?!" there was resounding shock.

"Yeah! We got powers!"

"But how?" Pan turned to Trunks in confusion. He shrugged and turned to his mother who in turn shifted her gaze to Vegeta.

Vegeta rolled his eyes.

"Making her Saiyan was only possible if the bloodline followed. So you ended up changing your entire family's race in the process," he explained in a bored tone. "How else do you plan on being Saiyan without having any trace of it in your blood?"

"Saiyan?" Goten scratched his head.

"If you show me inside Goten, I'll explain everything." Bulla stepped in front of him with her arms behind her back. Goten nodded dumbly and led her inside.

"We should explain it to Pan's parents," Bulma suggested and pulled Vegeta along.

With everyone gone, Trunks wasn't sure how he felt now. It wasn't only Pan but her entire family that was Saiyan.

"I love you," Pan said. "My family is excited about their powers. Just let it go. It's done."

Trunks sighed. This was wrong. But it felt so good to have other Saiyans other than his family.

He heaved a breath and smiled brightly.

"Lead the way, Mrs. Briefs."

-- END --


End file.
